Fragments Like Glass
by BTS-SilverLinings
Summary: In the 'Pirate Era', Nami is always the confident bluffer - her only way to protect her past and her secrets. When both future and past threaten to destroy her present, Nami discovers again, the pain of trying to reassemble broken glass - and for the first time, the people who would do it while smiling. High school and modern AU.
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One – Somewhere in the Grand Line**

* * *

In what seemed to be the universe's greatest joke, the day of the move happened to land on the day of a storm – a huge one. Rain pelts at the windows, slaps against the wipers' heroic defence and makes an irritable – but tolerable – melody by throwing itself on the roof of the car. Inside, thankfully, is toasty and warm. The heater is switched on but Nami still chose to keep her black blazer (which matched her white blouse, grey trousers and boots. She'd deliberated over the white blouse in this godforsaken storm but eventually decided the blouse was her best bet at landing this job, especially if it was wet and clinging. Nojiko had given a sour look at her for mentioning that though, wryly remarking, 'if that happens, don't take the job and get out') loosely draped across her shoulders, fiddling with the folded, sewn down cuffs.

"OK, I admit you were right." Nojiko had cranked the headlights on high, but still peers out into the gale, both hands on a death grip around the wheel, "I shouldn't have trusted that weatherman."

"He looked overly cheery when mentioning 'sunny and clear skies'," Nami replies.

"The bastard." At that, Nami laughs quietly, the sound drowned out by the rain outside.

"Where was this place again?" Nojiko asks for what seemed to be the hundredth time, peering ahead at the oncoming street sign, "Anywhere near some… Windmill Village?"

Nami shrugs, "I only know Roguetown." She no longer even had to look at the paper crumpled between her fingers with the address printed in bold, as if mocking her, but she did anyway, if for just something to do.

'_East Blue District Police Station – 16 Minister Street, Roguetown._

_Interviewee's appointment: __**5:30PM**_

_Signed: __**Chief Smoker**__'_

'5:30PM' was scrawled in thick, black lines by someone with a heavy hand. Nami glances at the time on the dashboard: _5:00PM._

Nojiko deliberates for a few seconds, tapping the wheel with one long finger as she carefully navigated the drenched road. Finally she pulls over, came to a stop and shifts to park, reaching into the back seat to grab her coat, "I'm going to ask for directions. I'll be back." Without pause, she wrenches the door open and stumbles out into the downpour, ducking her head as her blue hair is immediately soaked. Nami caught a glimpse of the scenery outside. A bright green sign that read 'Makino's Café' stood out, seeming to glow cheerily despite its dreary surroundings. Nami found herself smiling despite herself before the door was slammed shut again.

Waiting in the warm shell of the car took fairly long. Nami breathes humid air and wished she had thought to bring a drink. Everything else, however, managed to be stuffed into the car; the few possessions they truly owned. Clothes, books and other household items were bought on allowance for the purpose of keeping up appearances. A portion went towards bills as well and other basic necessities. The remainder of cash hadn't exactly left much breathing room for new items, if any.

_Arlong. _The name bitterly stained her mind and remained there like a virus. When Arlong had relocated, of course they'd had to as well. Posting out huge wads of cash hadn't been an ideal situation, especially if the post delayed or messed up delivery, and Arlong agreed. Of course he also did not trust them as much as they didn't trust him. He'd spared a bit of cash for moving out but hadn't mentioned they'd be relocating into one of the most expensive regions in East Blue, putting a huge strain on the already tight budget. Nami supposes she should just think it was fortunate Arlong didn't feel like uprooting them all to the luxurious Mariejois, the capital city and government sector. Even he wasn't that reckless. As it was, they were now all plonked in a web of sprawling suburbs which made up a portion of the Grand Line region, essentially living on the bare minimum.

_I hope the house is nice,_ Nami allows herself to think when the door is suddenly wrenched open again, making her jump. A figure leapt into the driver's seat, pulling the door shut behind him.

_Wait, 'him'? _

"Who the hell—?" Nami shouts, flinging her blazer aside. Her fist came up as fast as the man's arm did, creating an awkward stalemate over the central console of the car. The guy faces her with an expression of mild shock. His arm is seriously no joke, and Nami prided herself on having an iron fist. His forearm feels like brick under her knuckles.

"…What are you doing?" both spoke at the same time. His deep, casual voice is genuinely inquisitive and hers an angry outburst.

_What am _I _doing? _YOU _broke into my car! _Nami opens her mouth to say exactly that when another commotion catches her attention.

Suddenly, the back door bursts open and a chorus of laughter and yelling follows the two figures that jump in the back, soaking the seats and making their jackets crumple, producing a scratchy, squeaky, unpleasant sound. The rain pelts their jackets with deafening noise until one figure – which, Nami could see, turned out to be her sister – wrenches the door shut. Finally the car has silence but for the cheery hum of the heater.

"Nami, what are you doing?" cries Nojiko, staring in bemusement at the scene, "Attacking him?"

"Who is 'him'?" Nami retorted, looking between the blank driver and her sister, "What the hell, Noji—"

"How funny!" the second figure from the back seat laughs heartily, an oddly childlike voice. Nami twists her head around and glimpses what appears to be a child sprawling on two of the backseats. He is lanky underneath his bulky attire (and for some reason he is still wearing shorts) but of average height. His face is open in a huge grin, squashing his cheeks against his eyes to form arcs. Messy black hair splays limply across his forehead, covered with a straw hat, and that is covered by the hood of his rain jacket. With a final appreciative noise, he reaches up and pulls out his hat, examining it for damage. Finding none, he smiles again and placed it carefully back atop his head. Finally, he notices Nami staring curiously over her seat.

"Hi, I'm Luffy!" he pronounces loudly, grinning that huge smile again.

Nami isn't even looking at him anymore, but at her sister. Nojiko meets her gaze, shrugs and holds up a hand in an action of, 'what was I supposed to do?' Her gold bangle shimmers blindingly with water drops under the car lights. Nami unconsciously touches her own matching one on her wrist out of habit, finally pulling out of the stalemate. After a momentary pause, she turns and meets Luffy's face, whose expression didn't falter in that momentary thought exchange.

"Luffy, right? I'm Nami." She gives one last pissed off look at Nojiko and then meets the eyes of the man beside her. To her shock, he isn't really a man at all, but a teenager like her, maybe one to three years older at most. Her eye went down to his arm which he just casually rested on the steering wheel after their confrontation.

She clears her throat, pushing away images of a bodybuilder under this guy's raincoat, "I'm sorry about that. Let's do this over." She stuck out her hand over the centre console again, "Nami. You are?"

He seems amused, having clearly noticed her assessment. He's more perceptive than the other one, Nami thought grudgingly, a small blush colouring her cheeks. If he asked, she'll blame the heater. He was quiet though as he took her hand, "Ace. Nice to meet you."

"Ace, do you want to tell me what's going on?"

"Nami, cut it out," Nojiko groans from the backseat, "I said I was going for directions and I scored two guides. Happy? We'll probably get to your interview on time now." She paused and spoke to Ace, "Ace, please?"

"Sure," Ace easily manoeuvres their car in the rain, driving lazily with one hand compared to both Nami and Nojiko's strict ten-and-two style. He still effortlessly manages to turn smoothly through the winding streets.

"You're going to the police station for a job?" Nami caught Luffy's eye from the backseat as he asks, "Why are you going to work there?"

"Just another place to work," Nami replies curtly, avoiding the question automatically. His straightforwardness unnerves her.

"Are you going to be a police officer?" Luffy had suddenly vaulted forward against his seatbelt, putting his chin against the shoulder of her seat, his expression one of childlike interest, "That's interesting!"

"Hey!" Nami partly turns and twists her arm to push against his forehead, "That's dangerous. Sit back." He just laughs against her hand, and the sound mellows something in her. It sounds completely delighted, a sound of pure happiness. She glances at his face stretched in a wide grin and blinked, her face rendered completely still. Out of habit, her eye flicks to Nojiko, whose expression is one of smug satisfaction. She raises an eyebrow and mouths, _understand now? _She inclines her head to Luffy's grinning face and once again raises her hands. '_What was I supposed to do?_'

"Just sit," Nami pushes his head back, avoiding her sister's eye and he playfully agreed, sitting back obediently like a child, though a second later he was restless again in boredom. This time he struck up a conversation with Nojiko who answered his questions briefly and vaguely – 'Just today…', 'for work; we move around a lot', 'somewhere in the middle of town. I don't know the exact address…' She did it perfectly of course; evading details, playing down suspicions (not that Luffy appeared to have any), acting casual and cool. Nojiko is always the calm bluffer. As she listens, Nami reminded herself to relax and she refocusses on the road around her, as much as she could see out of the blurry glass anyway, trying to memorise the location. Nami couldn't concentrate.

She still is not entirely sure what to make of the whole situation. Isn't this supposed to be weird? A quick glance up at the rear-view mirror told her Nojiko seems perfectly fine, smiling even at Luffy's bizarre behaviour (now he's tracing images on the window's condensation and chortling that unique laugh). Beside her, Ace smiles good-naturedly, emphasising his cheeks and the light scattering of freckles across them.

"Yeah, he's a little kid."

"Oh," Nami rights herself, cursing Ace who seems to pick up on every little movement she did. He hadn't said much, if at all while driving. He is a natural at it so she doubts he is really concentrating on the task. Rather, he appeared to be listening, observing silently over the happenings in the car. She thought she saw him snicker a bit and his cheek lifts in a smile at her fluster.

"Are you paying more attention to me or the road?" she jokes and pokes his bicep. _Bodybuilder, definitely bodybuilder._

"I would pay attention if there was a road to see," he replies, easily returning her banter.

"Point."

Ace laughs this time, a deeper, sexier sound than Luffy's infectious one, and Nami smiles, playing along, naturally asserting control over the situation once more. The rest of the trip through the drowning roads and darkened city is spent in easy, flirtatious talk. Nami knew she is a natural charismatic individual. She knew the right expressions to show, the right words to say and the right attitude to uphold, especially with those who felt a physical attraction as well. Opposed to Nojiko, who cleverly evades questions in speech, Nami controls the conversation to avoid that bridge altogether – always managing to convince others that the grass is greener over her dying hill.

Ace, nor Luffy, is any different.

Nami is, after all, always the confident bluffer.

* * *

The 'police station' is an understatement bordering on absurdity. Nami supposes she should have expected something of a grander scale than her previous modest hometown station in the city. The building is several stories high and sports a very modern design with huge sheets of metal and glass. Automatic doors hiss quietly as Nami enters. Soft carpet mutes her steps towards the front desk and ends abruptly where the reception area cordons off to a bank of elevators. In the deep silence and in the claustrophobic elevator, Nami's footsteps sound magnified, second only to the beat of her heart which always thumps loudly in her chest in places like this, despite her many years' experience of them.

"This is no different," she mouths to herself, paranoid of any audio-sensitive technology in the elevator.

Again, she manages to find the cold metal of her bangle once under her blazer's sleeve before the doors slide open and she quickly drops both arms to her sides.

_Body language is key, _she exhales once, same as she always did, and purposefully walks out of the metal box, her strides long, her posture straight and head held up. She passes few people going about their business and meets each of their eyes, cataloguing familiar faces to recognise later. At some point, she stops a smart-looking young woman with navy hair and asks her for directions.

"Captain Smoker? Just down this way," the woman politely steps out of the way, revealing a noticeably wide path, "Door at the very end."

"Thank you," Nami smiles politely and moves forward, "I'm Nami, by the way."

"Oh, uh, Tashigi," the woman abruptly introduces her, smiling sheepishly, "Sorry." She looks at Nami then, being about the same height and cocks her head to the side. Her black eyes, behind red glasses, suddenly flicker with something like recognition, "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Must be your imagination. We've never met." _Thump, thump, thump, thump…_

"I see," at Tashigi's acceptance, Nami physically feels her heart settle and she quickly escapes into the wide corridor with a casual 'don't want to be late for my interview'.

This floor is in fact comprised mainly of wide corridors, lit by harsh fluorescent lighting which reflects off the industrial colours of black, grey and white. The doors open inwards to several rooms, mainly office types that have a warmer colour palette than the corridor outside, from what Nami could see through the bulletproof glass panels. Many desks have a framed picture on it among the paperwork or one of those 'Best Dad/Mum in the World' printed mugs.

Nami forces her eyes forward and keeps walking, letting the warm colours disappear from her mind.

* * *

_Holy shit, I might not actually get this job. _

Nami sits precariously perched on the edge of her seat, nervous beyond belief since bluffing her way through introductions. Across from her, the captain of the building, Smoker, locked her eyes with an intimidating gaze. His steel grey eyes gave away nothing. The strong, muscled build of the man is evident even under a thick coat he wears over a light, plain shirt. In front of him sat the neat pile of her resume which he'd read thoroughly while she sat there, feeling the walls of her confidence shatter. This man is definitely not going to be easy to win over.

"Your credentials are unique," he finally spoke, tapping two cigars at once on a glass ashtray affixed to his large desk. His voice is actually steady despite his apparent major smoking. Good ventilation in the room mercifully prevents Nami from suffocating on the fumes. She suspects that might be intentional.

"Unique?" she carefully ventures, feeling a knot coil in her stomach.

"Your education in particular is very… diverse," Smoker flips to a page and reads off the words, "You were home-schooled for a period of time then went to six different schools in no more than seven years. You never spent two years at any one." He reads down the list, "All of them are more prestigious as they go." His eyes meet hers, "Any reason you frequently changed out of so many stable schools with no track record?"

_A background check. Of course. _

"I was home-schooled when I was younger up until I was ten," Nami replies in rehearsed speech, "My guardian passed away. My older sister and I were placed in foster homes up until I was sixteen when she got custody. It's an unsteady situation; we've had to move around a lot."

Smoker raises an eyebrow, "And you are how old?"

Normally this is when things got tricky. "Seventeen."

It didn't take Smoker long to do the math, "You're under the custody of your nineteen year old sister." It is not a judgemental statement; a mere curious one. After he spoke, he took a long drag of his cigars, exhaling a trail of smoke to the side, never breaking eye contact.

"Yes. It's just the two of us," she adds on the last bit for good measure to deflect any other questions of her family life.

"Yet you manage to afford attendance for all of these schools. You must have had fortunate foster families."

"Scholarships mostly," Nami shrugs, "My sister and I have always had jobs since we were able so that helps too."

Smoker gives no indication of emotion apart from a slight nod. Carefully he arranges the papers to be straight again, deliberately taking his time as his expression seems somewhere between wariness and suspicion. Obviously, Nami is not his usual candidate who applies. She felt herself brush the cold ring of metal against her wrist again, wondering how much her background check gave away.

_Not much, _she convinces herself, _we never told anybody._

Still, there were lots of other little things on there that might be incriminating against her. She did use to steal books when she was little, for example. She is hoping her young age had managed to scrape her out of being recorded for it, although it had gotten both Nojiko and her kicked out of that foster family.

As she thought back on that, Nami could see Smoker's expression slowly inching towards suspicion and thus, a conclusion. She has a hunch it would not be in her favour.

_Here we go. _Nami places both hands against the surface of the table. She leans forward emphatically, not for showing anything (as soon as she'd seen Smoker, she immediately ruled out any purpose of playing out her joke to Nojiko and kept her blazer on), but to push her point, "Look, Captain Smoker, I know I am capable of this job. I will be here every shift I have. I'm willing to work anytime, except for school hours. I will work hard at anything you ask me to do." She inhales, remaining in that position, trying to will Smoker with her eyes. He meets her gaze squarely, holding it for several seconds. Finally, he sits back and took another long drag.

"Let me make something clear. I am not a sympathiser. I will not have any reservation of removing you should you not do the job correctly. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Tomorrow after your school day ends then. Which one are you attending?"

"Grand Line Academy." Nami pauses and decides she may as well keep being truthful, "My first day's tomorrow."

Smoker taps off his cigars again, "The Academy, huh?" His other hand taps the resume with her list of past schools, "My point stands."

* * *

Outside, parked at the curb of the sidewalk, impossibly wedged between two other cars, is Nojiko's old vehicle. Ace had habitually left the engine running, confident that a short job interview shouldn't take too long. However, Nojiko had politely asked him to kill it as soon as Nami had entered the building. So the atmosphere would have been silent…

…if not for Monkey D. Luffy.

"Whoa, Ace, look at this!" Luffy exclaims, free of his seatbelt, which allows him to clamber onto the middle seat and lean over to stare out of Nojiko's window at the massive building, "It's huge!"

"You've been here before!" Ace turns around, yelling in a part-joking manner, "We both have!"

"Yeah, but…" Luffy complains, "That time we were dragged here by Grandpa so it doesn't count!"

"That makes no sense."

"Wait, your grandfather?" Nojiko leans back, allowing a better view for Luffy who crows excitedly, "Your grandfather dragged you to a police station?"

"A prank that got a bit out of hand," Ace replies, "In junior year, we let off a huge stink bomb in the middle of school… during classes… then Luffy pulled the fire alarm 'cause we were worried the science lab might actually blow up, but honestly it wasn't even that bad! We didn't know Grandpa was in town that day and he immediately knew it was us. He's a commander of the main police force headquarters in Mariejois. Sometimes he comes and visits us."

"A comman—" Nojiko's eyes went wide for a second when suddenly the sound of rain assaults her ears as the passenger door opens.

"I got the job!" Nami's voice yells. The door slams and her sister's face beams at Nojiko's under a tangle of wet orange hair, "Nojiko, I got it! I start tomorrow!"

_Tomorrow? _"That's great, Nami!" Nojiko exclaims, "After school?"

She nods, "I should be able to walk down here."

"Wow!" Luffy yells, "You're going to be a police officer!"

"That makes no sense, Luffy!" yells Ace over the top of him.

"I'm just going to be a receptionist and assistant, Luffy," Nami explains, "Nothing like that."

"Cool! So you're like a police officer!"

Ace seems ready to drop his head onto the steering wheel but relents and just grins tiredly, "Congratulations on your job. I'll drive me and Luffy back to Makino's and let you have your car back."

"Thank _you_, Ace. After all, you drove me here… LUFFY! What did I say about sitting back? HEAD OFF MY SEAT!"

"But it's comfy!"

"Hey, all of you put on your seatbelts!" shouts Ace, "Otherwise Smoky's going to pull me over again!" At this, he nervously glances at the building as if Smoker is going to come charging out with a fine.

"Smoky?" Nami laughs, "And what do you mean 'again'?"

"Long story…"

"Ace is a reckless driver!" Luffy hoots, as he pulls his seatbelt on.

"Am not! HEY, Luffy, wear the seatbelt properly! Not halfway!"

"It's uncomfy!"

"NOW!"

Nojiko watches Nami carefully; remembering her expression of happiness and comfort around Ace and Luffy as both excitedly congratulated her. Nami is suspicious of people by nature. Nojiko is, too, but not to the extent of her younger sister. Few, few times – if at all – Nojiko had seen Nami truly smile like that in front of someone, excluding Nojiko herself. Unfortunately, for all Nojiko knows, Nami is faking it until she makes it. Sometimes it truly saddened her how much her younger sister could hide, how much she felt she _had to _hide, until actually being accustomed to the habit.

_I'm still here, Nami. I didn't leave. _Nojiko always felt the topic too direct to bring up, thus she never had. She would be lying if she claimed she never thought about it though.

_I wish Nami didn't feel so afraid to say something. _

Watching her now however, with Luffy and Ace, essentially strangers to them both, Nojiko looks upon Nami's smile warmly and rests her head against the window contentedly, listening to the sound of falling rain. More than anything, she wants to wind down the window and smell the familiar scent that reminds her of her mother, after the scent of tangerines and strong cigarette smoke.

If she closes her eyes, Nami's laughter could bring her back to her poor, perfect childhood… before Arlong ever interfered with it, shattered it and left the fragments like glass with edges too sharp for anyone to touch without getting cut, let alone put back together.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two – Somewhere in the Middle of the Grand Line**

* * *

_In the blackness of dreams and sleep, a white light drifted into her sight; sunshine on the hot days of summer reflecting off of white curtains and clear windows, making the tangerine groves glow outside. A dry breeze made the thin curtains fly, never letting them fall completely straight. _

"_Nami!"_

_Her voice was so warm, so direct, a sound made only for her, saying her name… _

…_The second time her name was screamed… _

…_the curtains billowed like ghosts in the howling, freezing gale… _

…_the voice belonged to someone else; her name screamed over and over again – warmth and fear expressed in the one word. It's her; she recognised the second, echoing voice screaming her name in fear. Then it morphed into another voice entirely, a man's voice calling her name and that same fear became her own._

* * *

Nami awoke to confusion, curled up on her side, her face buried into the darkest nook of her bed away from the sunlight streaming in from the simple square window against the east wall.

Habitually, her arm shoots out to her right and immediately jars upon impact with the wall.

"Son of a—!" Nami yelps as she retracts her hand, her sleepy state not yet registering the pain. She sits up abruptly and feels a sharp impact on her head, "Ow!"

"What…?" Nami slowly manages to turn her head without too much pain. She blinks at the flat plank of wood above her, _is that a shelf…?_

Then it hits her with abrupt enlightenment. _Oh yeah. We moved._

Now fully awake with a dull throbbing in her head and sore fingers, Nami could see her new room softly bathed in morning light. The window is somewhat dusty and several dust motes dance in the sunlight before slowly drifting down to the plain wooden floor. Her bed is simple – only just big enough to fit her somewhat tall frame – and covered with a tangle of mismatched blankets upon her erratic awakening. The walls are short and the ceiling low but both are clean save for a small mass of abandoned cobwebs in one corner. Three walls and the ceiling are painted in neutral colours and the remaining, far wall is, for some reason, in a light shade of green. It's faded over time and peeled a bit but overall not a bad colour. Nami suspects she might have hated it in its original form but likes its old, flaky appearance now. It looks like a soothing forest green in the light.

"Are you OK in there?" Nojiko yells from the small kitchen down the even smaller hallway. She could have spoken normally and Nami would have heard.

Last night, they'd had a bit of an argument after arriving to the house. It was a stressful day and Nojiko is normally very tolerant but had pointed out: "You promised me you wouldn't work for the first week until you settle in at school and make sure you catch up."

To which Nami had only replied, part-truthfully, "I wouldn't have gotten the job if I didn't."

It_ was_ part-truthful. Maybe she could have gotten the job without playing that card, but Nami hadn't wanted to admit she needed to work. She needed a way to feel as if she were useful instead of a burden to her sister. If she had to work a little harder, she'd do it.

Not that she'd said any of that. She'd switched roles with Nojiko and calmly bluffed her way out of her sister's annoyance. When she'd gone to bed, she felt too restless to sleep. It was as if too much had been left unsaid. Quickly though, the feeling had gave way to sleep and Nami gratefully welcomed it.

"Come and have breakfast before you're late!" Nojiko calls in the present.

"Yeah!" Nami replies and eases herself out of bed, running fingers through her hair. As she stands, she takes care to avoid the shelf, stacked precariously with heavy textbooks and atlases. The middle sags a little bit under the weight, so Nami relieves it of a few worn textbooks, shoving them into her bag. Apart from her books and sparse furniture, the room is basically bare. A small desk and chair are tucked in the corner under the nook with the cobwebs (at first the chair faced away from the door. As soon as she'd entered last night, Nami had turned the whole thing in the opposite direction, same with the bed) and a small wardrobe sits nearby against the wall. Apart from that, the room is starkly empty.

_It's still nice, _Nami reasons with herself, and it _is_ better than she expected and definitely better than some other living conditions she and Nojiko beared through in the past years. At least in this two-bedroom flat, it is quiet and peaceful with no dud foster families to torment her. _Small blessings._

Nami walks over to a box sitting next to the wardrobe and reached inside for the one possession she would never lose. In seeing her face, the only woman she had ever called 'Mum', Nami's face breaks into a sad smile.

"I'm going to school now. I love you," she murmurs. Then she carefully wraps the frame in its layers of bubble wrap and gently replaces it back inside the box among other meagre possessions.

* * *

Nojiko took the car to work where she waitressed at a local café. That left Nami with walking to school which she is perfectly happy with. Walking along the urban roads lined with huge, sweeping trees in some areas; Nami felt a sense of contentedness she'd missed feeling for some time. The rain had cleared overnight, but a faint cool air still wafts through the trees bringing with it the smell of cooking breakfast meals from nearby cafés as well as freshly brewed coffee, the lingering scent of rain and some flowery scent Nami couldn't identify naturally drifting from the trees and heavily-accented from open boutiques. Several cars move along the roads in orderly fashion and the streets are bustling with adults rushing to work. Nami could spot no other students wearing a uniform like hers – white shirt, black skirt, red military-style blazer jacket with gold trimming and tie.

_Everyone else drives to school, _she'd decided, _or takes public transport. _

Then, she finds herself walking in a familiar street.

"Nami!" Luffy's voice rings out, making Nami jump and the voice burst into laughter.

"Luffy!" Nami whirls around automatically; eyes narrowed but only meets the gaze of several surprised customers seated outside Makino's Café. She immediately backtracks, raising her hand in a gesture of apology and smiles in a way she hopes doesn't look suspicious.

"Am I hearing things—" she mutters to herself before Luffy's voice rings out again.

"Up here! Watch out!" A shadow suddenly falls over her.

"Huh— AH!" Nami looks up to see Luffy's lean form leap from a second-storey window. He sails through the air for a brief moment and lands on a simple railing protruding from the café, crouching low to maintain his balance. He grunts a little and shuffled to the edge before hopping off in front of her with a cheery smile and raised hand, "Yo!"

"The hell with 'yo'! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Nami yells, slapping his hand down. He didn't react in pain at all, merely retracting his arm with a laugh.

"I always come down that way; it's more fun," he explains, "Ace too, but he left already."

"Ace?" Nami suddenly takes notice of Luffy's attire. He has the white shirt on and black pants but opted out the jacket for a red vest. Both pieces of clothing covering his torso have the top buttons undone down to several centimetres below his collarbone. His straw hat still occupies the prime position atop his head. It tilts to the side when Luffy cocks his head, also recognising her uniform.

"You go to Grand Line Academy?" Nami exclaims at the same time Luffy also yells, "Awesome! You go to the Academy too!"

In her peripheral, Nami spies a figure leaving the building. She turns and watches a pretty, young woman with sleek green hair tucked under a kerchief serving coffee. At the sight of the pair, her expression turns to one of part exasperation and part curious interest, "Luffy! You're going to be late at this rate!"

"Luffy's got a new school friend, Makino!" the man she is serving laughs heartily, "And a pretty one at that!"

"Geez, Mayor…" Makino sighs and lifts the coffee pot, serving another woman near the edge of the railing before making her way over to the pair, "Good morning! Are you a friend of Luffy's? Oh?" she stops short and looks at her, her eyes wide and inquisitive, "You look very much like a woman who came in yesterday, only your hair is orange and long…"

"Nojiko? She's my sister," Nami replies, smiling, "It's nice to meet you, Makino. I'm Nami and, uh…" For the first time in a long while, Nami stumbles for words. _Are we friends? Acquaintances? Those people that just up-and-down each other as they pass? What even is this? _

"…I just met Luffy, and Ace, yesterday," she ends awkwardly, "I'm sorry for dragging them out yesterday. Are you their….?" She definitely looks too young to be Luffy's mother and has no resemblance whatsoever as a sister.

"Just a family friend," she answers easily, "They…" she looks over at Luffy who had shuffled back inside out of boredom and now fought with the 'Mayor' man over a breakfast muffin, and stifles a smile, "…have a unique family history and living situation. And don't worry about getting them out – they love exploring on their own usually. At least they had someone supervising them this time."

Nami watches as Luffy whines and tries to reach around for the food as the Mayor mock-yells and swats him away. Finally, as the Mayor is distracted, Luffy swoops in with the opposite hand and shoves the muffin in his mouth with a triumphant yell. She lifts a hand to hide her laughter as Makino starts forward, "Now, Luffy!" Luffy looks up, notices Nami and quickly swallows before his face extends in his signature wide grin.

"Nami! Do you want a muffin?" Luffy calls.

"Oh yes, how would you like one?" Makino abruptly turns back to Nami with a smile. She winks, "On the house of course." With a final glance between Luffy and Nami, she adds, "Feel free to come here anytime, Nami. I'm sure the boys would be happy to see you."

* * *

Grand Line Academy makes Nami choke on her muffin. Literally.

"IT'S HUGE!" she exclaims, the remainder of her blueberry muffin dropping out of her limp hand. Luffy descends and snatches it up like a hawk, chewing happily, his cheeks puffed out.

"Yeah," he simply replies casually mid-chew. Nami turns her jaw-dropped face to his for a second, uncomprehending of his casual manner towards this… this _palace_ and then slowly turns back to face the building, wondering if she's actually hallucinating. She's not. If anything, the place looks even grander on the second viewing.

The Academy is a humongous structure, comprised of many smaller buildings. Everything looked beautiful in various hues of warm brown, tawny, sloped roofs that almost resembled pagoda roofs and huge, arched windows. There are pillars Nami could see, supporting the structures. The tops of the pillars ranges from plain capitals to ones that were elaborately decorated supporting what Nami assumes are the administrative offices or staffrooms. Large fields flank either side of the school with what seems to be the edges of sports fields visible if Nami peers far enough.

"What kind of school is this?" Nami drags Luffy aside, behind one stone pillar that holds the open, wrought-iron gates, "It looks like a palace! Or some vacation home! Are we lost?"

Luffy actually turns and squints at the building, humouring her for a second. Then he looks back at her, "Nope, still school. Pretty cool huh?"

"How much is my scholarship worth?" Nami mutters as she edges back to the gates, once again surveying the palace-like territory. She can only imagine royalty attending here, not even city kids, let alone herself originally from a tiny country town. Suddenly the uniform makes a lot of sense, "What are we supposed to be, soldiers of Buckingham Palace?" she takes the edge of her jacket and pulls it across her torso, looking at the gold accents and shoulder decoration.

"Pirates."

Nami looks up at Luffy, who had wandered in the gates and waited for her. He seems completely unbothered by his statement and unaffected by the sheer enormity of the territory. She follows him, "What? Pirates?"

"Yeah." Luffy sounds increasingly excited as he talks, "You know the story of Gol D. Roger, right?"

"Roger?" Nami frowns, finding the name familiar, "Uh…" It clicks and she blurts out, "The Pirate King?"

The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. The man had gained fame before Nami was born so she is only vaguely knowledgeable of him. She did know Roger was the leader of a huge gang – some claimed the mafia, although this was later proven to be incorrect – whose influence spread over the Grand Line region and beyond almost twenty five years ago. Finally, the government had apprehended him and he made a significant speech whilst in custody, claiming the hidden treasure of One Piece that would bestow upon the man who found it. The speech had urged the world into a frenzy and Nami remembered only blurry recollections of media reports raving about it in her childhood in foster care, as well as Roger's abrupt death in prison, the cause of which had never been brought to light.

'_The Pirate Era'. _The frenzy was so aptly named for Roger's gang, the infamous Roger Pirates that started it all.

_It all started after that, _Nami thought of Arlong's face, Arlong's voice calling her name in nightmares, Arlong's tight grip around her arm or neck and shudders in her jacket as the face morphs into something else. Arlong, like a predatory shark, hunting her; knowing where she is with the slightest scent of blood. _The Pirate Era started this. _

"Yeah, that's the one!" Luffy still talks in the present, oblivious to Nami's turmoil beside him, "Roger…" he pauses, fixing his hat as he walks, "… lots of people thought he was a bad guy and lots of people thought he was good too. But everyone knows him and listened to him. So lots of bad guys are trying to find One Piece, but lots of good guys are too. It became too much… too many people weren't going to school anymore and everyone was trying to find One Piece."

"The government intervened," Nami remembers now, the abrupt, global plan of the World Government to establish two humongous academies, one in the Grand Line region and the other in the New World region, "To try and establish order again… Grand Line Academy and New World Academy…" she couldn't believe the thought hadn't occurred to her until now, "But then… how did it even…?"

"It's been a long time," Luffy shrugs, "At first, it didn't work. Then, really strong people started to show up both in Pirate gangs and in the World Government. They were enough to scare people into coming here where it's safe. Or to get stronger before they go out again."

"This is what this is?" Nami cries, "A _gang school_?"

"Well, not really," Luffy replies, "It's a normal school – but that would be so cool! A gang school! But the Government still owns it so it's not like they encourage being in a gang. It's more like people come here for the safety of being in Government territory, the Government tries to brainwash them and everyone leaves fine either way. If they end up being in a gang anyway, people like Smoky catch them if they do bad stuff."

"Oh…" Nami sneaks a sideway glance at the boy who explains things so cheerily as they enter the beautiful marble office. Then she is temporarily distracted as she receives new class schedules and informative sheets as well as confirmation notes and fees she would have to give to Nojiko to sign later.

"Good luck," the lady whispers, smiling kindly at her as the last of the forms is exchanged. Nami nods with a tight smile, sealing the papers in her bag, all but the class schedule which she guesses would be stuck to her face for most of the day. At least she seems to have 'scored a free guide' as Nojiko put it. Luffy lingers by the door, his face upturned toward something as he waits for her. She allows a small smile as she directs her gaze back to the secretary.

"Don't hesitate to ask any questions or for directions," the lady says. She is dressed in a feminine, professional manner, with a punky edge in bold colours. Her short black hair is in a variant of the bob style, curling around her chin. 'Shakuyaku' her name tag reads. As she props her chin in her hand at her desk, Nami notes the lean muscle in her arms.

_This lady works out, clearly…_

"Most people call me Shakky," she says suddenly, a smile in her voice, "Monkey over there," she inclines her head at Luffy, "Did he explain our school's history yet?"

"It's too much to remember, Shakky!" Luffy overhears and immediately comes over to the desk and slams his palm on the surface. Shakky does not so much as blink, "It's making my head hurt!"

"Oh, but you explained it?" Shakky replies pleasantly, "Saves me one thing I have to do."

"Yeah," Luffy mock-sulks, making Shakky chuckle.

"How did you know I was walking to school with him?" Nami jerks a thumb at Luffy and Shakky only lazily turns her gaze.

"Woman's intuition. It didn't hurt that he told Rayleigh all about you either." Nami opens her mouth but Shakky cuts her off smoothly before she can say anything, "Now, do you have any questions before you start? I assume with knowledge of the Academy's history and purpose, you'll be able to make sense of…" she pauses and purses her lips, "…how things work around here. It might be a little different to your previous schools."

"How so? Are the classes… normal?" Nami suddenly has visions of something similar to army training or boot camp. Maybe that's why the fields are so huge… Or why there are pillars everywhere like the goddamn Roman Colosseum.

"Completely normal. Your teachers on the other hand," she motions for the schedule and Nami places it on her desk. Shakky's finger trails down the schedule as she surveys each name printed beneath the classes, "Hancock, Trafalgar, Doflamingo, Bartholomew, Mihawk…" she looks up, "Do these names sound familiar?"

It takes a second for the names to register. Then, judging from Luffy's apparent glee, Nami's face had contorted into something quite terrifying. When she spoke, her voice had dropped several octaves, as it always did when she was either angry or terrified. In this case being the latter.

"They are our teachers?" she stares intensely at Shakky who only shrugs and removes her finger, choosing to play with a stray pen, twirling it expertly between her fingers like, Nami can't help but notice, a knife. Nami abruptly pushes the thought from her mind and twists the paper back towards herself, trailing her finger down the abbreviated names: HNK, TFR, DMG, BTM, MHK…

_The Shichibukai? Seriously?_

Nami looks up, suddenly noticing the corkboard against the wall behind Shakky covered inch-by-inch in newspaper clippings, all seeming to be front-page headlines. '**GRAND LINE ACADEMY APPROVED…**', '**SHICHIBUKAI CHOSEN TO BE**…', '**THE END OF THE PIRATE ERA?**', '**INFLUX OF YOUTHS IN SCHOOLS**…' The clippings all appear to be from various dates and overlaps each other in an artfully messy collage. Nami studies the various headlines and notes a few tucked into the sides that appear to be smaller sections; those brief articles in the heart of newspapers: '**GARP YET TO CATCH FEMALE PIRATE SHA…**', '**GARP ELUDED AGAIN**' and '**FEMALE PIRATE ON THE RISE**'. Shakky, meanwhile, twirls the fountain pen which has still yet to drop, its metal pointed tip glinting in the morning light streaming through the windows. Then she abruptly snaps her fingers, shooting the pen against the corkboard where it hits with a hard 'thunk' like a dart against a bullseye. It hit precisely above the word 'SHICHIBUKAI' printed in bold capital letters of one aged-looking clipping.

"Whoa, that's awesome Shakky! Teach me to do it!" Luffy yells, leaning half-over the desk.

Nami's breath caught in her throat at the stunt and her eye drops to Shakky's, conveying a silent question. Those headlines and her lean, toned form and no-nonsense attitude only adds fuel to the fire.

The woman in question only shrugs again, "I'm retired. Everyone on staff here is, or in alliance with the World Government. Or both, I guess." She leans down and opens a drawer, pulls out a slim pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She flicks one out, lights it and raises the cylinder to her lips, "The only way to control Pirates is with Pirates, after all." Her gaze flickers to those headlines at the side of the board and then to another, plain wooden door against the far wall with only a polished metal plaque engraved: 'SILVERS RAYLEIGH'. She takes a long drag and lets the cigarette dangle as she exhales.

"If history is anything to go by, anyway."

* * *

"Wanna come meet my friends?"

Nami is starting to get used to Luffy's blunt manner; as well as his erratically unpredictable personality, and his somehow knowing everybody in the Academy. Or at least, everybody knew _him_. Walking down the wide corridors, several people, regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, or even personality acknowledges the boy somehow. Nami hears the most common way he was referred to – 'Straw Hat'.

She barely hears his question as a result, weaving between several people and avoiding any curious glances at the newcomer. Luffy strides ahead without reservation in a straight line as everyone makes way for him, seemingly oblivious to the environment.

"Which ones?" Nami remarks, dodging a particularly intimidating looking pair. They both only look warily at Luffy and move on without comment.

"Hm?" Luffy stops, allowing her to catch up, right in the current of people, "What do you mean?"

"You seem to know everyone here."

"Yeah, most of them," Luffy replies, "They're good guys. A little strange though," he laughs, "But funny so it's good. My crew have all our classes together, and you're with us too. By the way, do you want to join?"

"Huh?" Nami completely blanks at his question, another abrupt personality quirk of his.

"Join my crew!" he repeats, his face in a wide grin again. A grin, Nami thinks, she has seldom seen him go without even in her short time of knowing him.

She also notes that his voice is relatively loud and distinct. A voice that commands attention and authority beneath its childlike tone. Several heads turn their way in surprise and for a second, the entire corridor plunges into quiet. Not silence, but quiet. Low whispers and utterances spread across the suddenly too-small space like wildfire. The surrounding students stare with apprehension at her, some surreptitiously but others obviously, as if expecting her to do something insane that warranted Luffy asking such a thing. Even more people stare at Luffy, their eyes a mix ranging from shock to curiosity to exasperation. As usual, he ignores all of them, only looking expectantly at her with an open, curious face. Under his left eye is a scar Nami had never noticed before, probably due to his cheeks always pushing it up and away from her view when he smiles. He isn't now, and neither is she.

_He's asking me to join a Pirate crew. He's the captain of a Pirate crew._

Immediately, all of her thoughts of content, comfort and unexplainable fondness for this strange boy shrivel up and dies inside her, the remains crushed under the memories from her past. Thoughts could be forgotten. Memories never were. When she exhales, it feels like her resolve that she inhales on the next breath. She is not nervous. She is never afraid of being put on the spot; over the years she'd just had to learn to take it and move on. This is no different.

With that thought, Nami looks up with a steely, level gaze straight into the eyes of a Pirate.

"No."

The sound comes out all wrong. It sounds broken, desperate, fearful, angry and obvious at that. But it is all the confident bluffer had to say.

Without registering the momentary surprised, disappointed look of the Pirate, Nami quickly walks past as fast as she could in the uniform's black boots, shaking out her long orange hair to create a familiar barrier between herself and everyone around her. Intentionally focussing on the path ahead, ignoring all the voices – most of all, his – and well aware she has no idea where the hell she is going, Nami keeps walking; wanting only to put as much distance between herself and him as possible.

She has no idea how she walks through the throngs of people with ease. Perhaps it is the nature of people to make way for people with an agenda.

No, people make way for other people like Luffy. They were only repelled by her and she let them be.

Whatever the reason, she soon finds herself alone, walking away from everyone.

Inexplicably, her fingers find the curved arch of her bangle somewhere around the end of the corridor and finds solace in knowing its presence; while the rest of her feels anger, naivety, anger at her naivety, fear, an odd sense of betrayal…

…and loneliness.

* * *

Nami's superpower, Nojiko and Nami's mother used to joke, is her sense of direction. No matter where she is, in whatever weather and even state of consciousness, Nami would never get lost. It had started when she was young on the afternoon she'd snuck off with a tangerine into the forests near her first home, trying to grow her own tangerine plant in secret. It hadn't worked – had been a huge failure in fact to even dig a hole – and Nami had found herself exploring the pretty forest instead. Eventually, her family noticed she was missing once it started getting dark. The police had even proposed searching the forest, until Nami herself wandered out of the trees finishing off the tangerine and asked what all the fuss was about.

The trait had only developed as she grew older. An intuition, almost, that guided her wherever she needed to be. In being a nomad, the skill is always useful to her.

Now, after wandering the seemingly identical corridors for the remainder of the short minutes before class, Nami's uncanny ability came through for her once again when she sees the open door a few metres away marked with her room number. Entering, it occurs to her brain too late that Luffy mentioned their classes were all the same.

She freezes as soon as she hears his laughter, reverberating in the room. A deeper, irritable voice complains, "Luffy, shut up will you? I'm trying to sleep!"

"You're going to sleep for the next class though!"

"Not at this rate!"

Luffy's answering laugh only receives an angry grumble but it sounds mocking this time, as if a smile is hiding behind it.

"Zoro, you really shouldn't sleep through every class for God's sake," a different male voice chips in. Another voice immediately agrees and also asks, "How are your wounds from last time?"

"Still hurts so I need to sleep it off," Zoro answers.

"THEN STAY HOME!" the same voice that asked the question yells.

_They seem distracted enough…_ Nami inches out from where she'd backed up against the doorjamb to obscure her appearance. Wishing her hair didn't stand out so much, she quickly enters the room, avoiding anyone's eye.

"Oh, Nami!"

_There is no God._

"Nami?" one of the other voices says, "Luffy, do you know her?"

"Yeah! Nami, come and sit with us!"

Raising her head, Nami surveys the company surrounding Luffy who sits cross-legged on the table. The next table over to the right is occupied by a green haired boy whose arms – very, very muscular arms made even more obvious from his short sleeved uniform shirt – are folded on the desk. His head rises slightly; impassive eye meeting hers. A scar runs down his left eye, sealing it closed.

To the upper left of this desk is occupied by a young looking boy with a childlike face and wide eyes. Locks of soft, yet shaggy brown hair sit atop his head. He still has a hint of baby fat, especially over his cheeks but is still lean in his limbs. He sort of avoids her eyes, seeming very shy, hiding behind his neighbour. However he actually sticks out more, as if doing the opposite of hiding. The neighbour he hides behind is a tanned boy with thick, unruly black hair beneath a white hat. His distinctive feature appears to be his nose which is longer than most. Like the others, his build is muscular beneath his uniform.

Although they all look a little surprised, save for Luffy, who, God help her, is waving his arm as if she can't already see him; none of them look particularly unfriendly. An odd combination, yes, but not unwelcoming.

_Pirates…? _Nami wonders, looking at them. After hearing their conversation, she can't bring herself to believe it.

A second has passed. The black-haired boy pipes up, "Come on. We're Luffy's crew. We won't bite." Then his face smiles; not to the extent of Luffy, but a regular, warm smile.

That word again – crew. Nami inhales, exhales, grips her bangle so tightly it almost leaves a print in her palm and a thought passes through her brain.

_I can't make an enemy of any more Pirates._

Swallowing her pride, Nami releases her grip on her bangle, lifts her face in a practiced smile and makes her way over to the group, "Nice to meet you."


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three – Somewhere in Grand Line Academy**

* * *

"Nice to meet you," Nami walks over to the group. _Head high, shoulders back. I am not cursing every God in existence right now. _As she breathes easily, Nami slips seamlessly into her role once more.

"I'm Nami," she continues, walking over to the desk beside the young boy's, which looks unoccupied and dumps her stuff, taking a seat, "Is someone sitting here?"

"No, it's free," the young boy mumbles. A red cap with a white 'X' had been sitting on the corner of his desk. At her approach, he'd abruptly snatched it and pulled it over his face shyly, still not meeting her eyes.

"Hey Chopper, what are you doing?" Luffy laughed, rocking back and forth atop his desk, "Don't be scared, she's a nice person."

Chopper didn't reply, only tugging the cap further over his eyes, shrinking underneath her gaze. Despite it all, the action struck Nami in some odd, maternal way. She turns around to avoid direct eye contact, letting her smile soften naturally.

"Chopper, right? You don't have to be shy. I won't bite," at that, her eyes flicked to the tanned boy who'd first said the phrase to her, "That goes for the rest of you too. What are your names?"

The tanned boy chuckles a little and jerks a thumb towards himself, "I'm Usopp and he's—" he moves to gesture behind at the green-haired boy.

"Zoro," the latter interrupts in his deep voice. His head is once again buried into his arms, making it sound muffled.

"Hey, do you have to be so rude?" Usopp snaps, whirling around and poking his forearm. His only reply is an unintelligible, sleepy mumble.

"Geez," Usopp rolls his eyes and turns to face the front again, "Hancock's late. Strange, usually she's here super early." At this, he twists his head and looks very deliberately at Luffy. Nami blinks, uncomprehending. Usopp turns to face her, "Hancock's got a huge crush on him since a couple years ago. We're still investigating as to why."

Nami laughs but gets cut off by the sound of loud, distinct clicks of high heels on wood. In the corner of her eye, she glimpses the side-profile of a sculpted, marble face of a woman through the rectangular windows lining the walls. Then the woman turns swiftly into the room, long black hair and white cloak sweeping after her like a model's during a shoot. Exactly like that because this woman _is_ a supermodel. She is the most beautiful woman, physically, that Nami has ever seen. Her face is angelic as her eyes immediately find Luffy but at the sight of the rest of the class (Usopp tosses her a scrunched up paper ball. Smoothing it out, Nami sees a surprisingly detailed and accurate drawing of the classroom from a bird's eye view. Over each square representing a desk are written names. Red pen circles are drawn to surround certain squares, identifying the groups. One is labelled 'Amazon Lily'. The corresponding group is composed of entirely girls over nearby the door. Another is labelled 'Worst Generation'. That group is erratically random as if thrown together and scrambled. Nami eyes a pink-haired girl shoving a whole slice of pizza in her mouth and what appears to be a blonde kid with a full-on mask over his entire face. Then Nami folds the paper and reminds herself to look at it later, shooting a grateful look at Usopp), Hancock's face screws up in an expression of dangerous fury.

"Attention, class!" the voice resounds in the room; echoes off the surfaces of wood and stone like husky thunder. All at once, the class quietens from chatter into low mumbles. The Amazon Lily group immediately sits at attention while the Worst Generation appears to rebel more. Pink-Hair only rolls her eyes and leans further back in her chair, grabbing another slice of pizza from the box in her lap.

"Jewellery Bonney, legs off the table," Hancock orders, "_Now._"

Slowly, deliberately her legs uncross themselves and shove underneath her desk; Bonney wearing a thinly-veiled mask of contempt the whole time. Hancock only ignores her and passes on, her lips lifting a little at Luffy who'd shifted to sit cross-legged in his chair instead and finally resting on Nami.

"A new student," she remarks, her tone impassive, "You, what's your name?"

_What the hell is this tone? _Nami frowns a little but finally Chopper catches her eye and gives a subtle shrug so she calms down and meets her first teacher's eyes squarely.

"Nami."

"Nami?" Hancock repeats the word thoughtfully; her dark eyes impassive but intrigued, "I see. A word of warning then that in my classroom, I alone make decisions, rules and arguments, not the other way around. Remember that."

With that, she turns and strides purposefully to the front of the room. Nami looks after her back with a somewhat annoyed look. Some welcoming committee with rainbows and free s'mores. Then again, Nami tries to remind herself she shouldn't expect any different. This school keeps on making her forget and harshly remember what it really is. She mentally shakes herself and refocusses to the front of the room.

After the initial cold front, Hancock actually proves to be an effective teacher at English and literature. Her passion for Shakespeare no doubt is fuelled in some way by Luffy from the way she quotes '_Romeo and Juliet_' so reverently while catching his eye. Nami follows the play easily enough and completes the review questions diligently, like Chopper and mostly Usopp; though the latter keeps on having to spin around and scold Luffy who plays a game of balancing pens along the spine of the still comatose Zoro.

At some point, Zoro finally stirs and lifts his head, causing all of the pens to roll off and clatter noisily to the floor. Luffy cackles with laughter while Usopp sighs, finally giving up on them altogether.

"Be quiet back there—!" Hancock, standing at the front of the room with a marker to the board, abruptly cuts off when she sees Luffy's face and her voice reduces to a sweet coo as if to a child, "Luffy, try and get your work done, please." Quickly, as if a switch flipped, her voice becomes thunderous once more, "RORONOA ZORO, are you sleeping in my class again?"

"No," Zoro pulls his face up and plucks a pen from the ground, "I was just thinking."

"For three quarters of an hour," Hancock snaps darkly. Her eye scans over the rest of her class, her gaze narrowing at one, "Eustass Kidd!" The marker in her hand is dropped and one long leg shoots out in a perfect straight kick, launching the missile right into Kidd's forehead.

Or Nami is completely sure it would have if the masked boy, 'Killer', should she remember correctly, had not caught it centimetres from the target's smirking face.

"Not bad," Hancock allows coolly, "But get back to work." Her hand is outstretched for the marker which Killer tosses back easily. With a look at Kidd, who gives an annoyed, resigned glare of compliance, he copies Kidd's actions and gets back to work. As soon as Kidd starts working, Nami notices the others in the group following suit, even the rebellious pizza glutton.

_What is he, a captain? _Nami watches the whole group now out of the corner of her eye, noting the individuals within the group that stand out and seem to exert some sense of control over the others. Kidd is one, Jewellery Bonney another and perhaps a couple more she isn't quite sure of yet. Amazon Lily is led by two individuals; both impossibly tall girls – one with green hair and one with orange, though she can't recall their names exactly. The remaining is Luffy's group, obviously led by the kid.

A hand suddenly slams on her desk and Nami yelps, half-jumping out of her seat. Above her Hancock is an imposing figure, having to bend her tall frame down almost a full ninety degrees to be level with her eyes. Her smooth black hair falls over one shoulder and pools on her desk. Up close, Nami is acutely aware of how truly gorgeous she is. Even as a complete heterosexual female, Nami finds herself blushing slightly.

"Yes?" she quickly blurts.

"Take this note to the Administration Office immediately and tell them it's for Elder Nyon. State it is of the utmost importance." Long fingers deposit a folded paper on the desk and she swiftly turns on her heels, striding back to the front of the room.

* * *

"What a weird class," Nami murmurs to herself as she wanders the winding corridors once more (this time her feet know exactly where they are going): a supermodel for a teacher, future thugs for classmates and actual wolf packs with alphas and betas. Nami is beginning to wonder if there is one normal person in this entire school.

_Usopp and Chopper seem nice enough_, she thinks. Other than that, Luffy is a Pirate leader and Zoro is virtually unreachable and most likely narcoleptic. The others don't seem much better either and Nami can hardly see herself getting close to any of them.

Not for the first time, Nami wonders if her expectations are too high of others; if she always expects too much because she is used to always receiving less. Like rounding each corner in the ridiculous labyrinths of the school – always expecting something more familiar or better than the last around the next curve. Always wishing for something she is not even completely sure is there.

Unlike the past, her legs know exactly where she is going and unlike the past; eventually, the next corner gives way to exactly what she is looking for.

In reaching the office, she sees Shakky prying pens out of her corkboard where she is playing an unorthodox game of darts. She spins around in her chair and drops the pile of pens on her desk with a noisy clatter. In doing this, she spots Nami.

"Got lost during the entire first period?"

"Not that lucky," Nami replies and offers the paper, "Hancock says this is for Elder Nyon."

"She's in luck. Nyon is in Rayleigh's office. Want to drop it in for me?" Shakky arranges the pens in a pyramidal shape and 'tch's when the structure collapses, "She came in here about some disturbance stuff where she lives in Amazon Lily. She gets pretty passionate; I just prefer to leave them to it when I can. So, please?"

"Why would she come to a school principal?"

"Rayleigh's a… influential figure in the area," Shakky replies as she rebuilds her pyramid, "Let's just say the police can be subjective to act depending on who asks for it, so people tend to come to Rayleigh to keep the peace among Pirates. Especially with Whitebeard's passing two years ago," her structure collapses again and this time she leaves it as she sits back unbothered, "Rayleigh's been getting a lot of work. The Pirate Era is changing and with that comes conflict. But anyway…" she gestures at the door with the engraved plaque and turns around to play another game of darts, effectively dismissing her.

When Nami approaches the door, she hears fierce talking behind it, bordering on heated debate. She raises her hand to knock and pauses when the lady's voice rises, albeit quietened by the door.

"… Disturbance in the area! It cannyot be… the girls are in danger if he's…" the blanks in between are angry, accented slurs that Nami can't really comprehend. The tone throughout is angry and urgent though.

"The girls are quite capable of taking care of themselves," Rayleigh's voice is clear and closer to the door as he talks calmly but firmly, "Besides, even if they weren't, they have the protection of the Boa sisters, Hancock herself included. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."

"He's a threat, Rayleigh! Definitely nyot some idiot on a whim! He nyeeds to be detained!"

Nami moves her hand figuring there will not be any break in conversation to enter politely.

"Arlong…!" the lady's voice hisses and Nami freezes. A quick, curt glance back tells her Shakky is still caught up in aiming fountain pens at an invisible bullseye.

"Arlong is a fairly notorious name," Rayleigh allows. His voice keeps on drifting in and out of earshot, as if he's pacing back and forwards from the door, "As of yet… no grounds to interfere…"

The lady's voice fiercely starts to protest but Rayleigh repeats, "There are no grounds to interfere, Nyon. I can only assume the Boa sisters said the same so you come to me for assistance." He pauses, "If he hasn't posed a legitimate threat on Amazon Lily, I've no reason to interfere. That's all I can say."

There follows a long pause. Finally, the lady, Elder Nyon, relents and Nami hears them exchange brief farewells and the scrape of a chair as Nyon stands to go.

Nami knocks moments before the door is opened.

She blinks at what appears to be a carved purple staff in a scarily accurate depiction of a snake and instinctively flinches back, "Ah!" She stumbles back a step; seeing the vivid, dangerous eyes of a predator. Then she blinks and the snake's eyes turn to round, innocent orbs once more. Almost immediately, her stupidity hits her and she has to force herself from blurting out something that would only make the situation worse.

"Don't worry, he's not real," an amused voice tells her. Nami looks down and sees a very small woman, perhaps only to her mid-thigh in height. She is dressed in clothes that bear intricate tribal patterns and her unbound white hair flows freely down her back, accessorised only with a pink flower above her left temple.

"Maybe if you stopped carrying him at everyone else's eye-level it wouldn't be such a problem," Rayleigh remarks from where he leans against the wall behind her. His arms are crossed as if in deep thought. He straightens himself, turns and his eyes are immediately intrigued, "Are you the new student Luffy told me about?"

"Nami," she recovers what dignity she can and offers the paper, "I'm only delivering a message for Hancock."

"That girl?" Nyon reaches up with her hand and uses her staff to push Nami's arm down at the same time.

"Hey!" Nami yelps as Nyon takes the paper and peers at it suspiciously before curtly cutting her off, "Fine. Thank you."

_Everyone in this bloody school, _Nami thinks irritably. Rayleigh's mouth quirks upwards in an apologetic smile but otherwise does not interfere.

As Nami turns and starts to leave, she couldn't resist angling her head back slightly, as if checking the clock on the far wall. Her eyes strained to see the edge of her peripheral vision.

She watches as Nyon scans the paper and whatever is written on it. Her expression only alters by a quick enlargement of her eyes and, what Nami imagines, a sharp intake of breath.

Then she turns and ushers Rayleigh back into his room, follows him and closes the door once more. Even from her distance now, Nami can hear the start of another fiery debate.

* * *

After her initial covert spying, Nami actually did check the time (only thirteen before next period) and deliberately dawdles going back to class, hoping to get there just in time for the bell to ring. She has a sinking suspicion Hancock might just nail her to her desk for such a thing, however.

In exiting the office, one found themselves on the threshold of a huge, spacious courtyard dotted with lush gardens, stone pathways and a grand fountain right in the centre. On three sides were the buildings, forming a U-shape if looked from bird's eye view. On the open side were more gardens and then a gentle slope descended beyond them into the sporting fields that occupied the rear of the school.

Nami knew all this by wandering around the courtyard, enjoying the steady click-click-click of her boots on stone along with the peaceful hum of the fountain. Grand Line Academy is not like some sort of institutional school, she thinks; more like home despite its majestic appearance. Maybe that is part of an illusion.

But Nami likes it, at least for now.

She follows the stone paths that lead her past displays of gardens and statues; the latter apparently of notable figures for there is a small plaque or stone at the foot of most. Automatically, she leans down and reads each one as she passes.

_**Pirate King Roger… White—**_

"First day and already a truant," a wry voice comments, momentarily breaking her train of thought.

Nami yelps and looks up into the eyes of Ace. He sits casually on the stone slab on which the statue stands, legs partly stretched out before him. He grins at her expression, "'Sup."

"You two really are brothers," Nami mutters and Ace tilts his head in confusion. She quickly adds, "Should you be sitting on that?"

"Don't see why not," he replies, angling himself back to lean against the huge stone bisento wielded by the statue, "It's not a grave." After a few seconds of silence, he speaks again, his voice changed in ways that Nami cannot identify, "He was my old man. He'd want his kids nearby, not kept at safe distance." At the last words, his eyes drop slightly, studying the edge of the stones rather than her eyes. But a second later, his black eyes rose once more and the conversation flows as if nothing had happened.

"What class are you meant to be in now?"

"Hancock's English. What about you?"

That smile again and his eyes reflected amusement. His toned, tall body stood and poses opposite her, arms out at the sides in some 'ta-dah' gesture. Nami blinks and then notes his dark jeans and shirt that is actually open over his bare chest. The bodybuilder theory is alive and thriving, clearly. She quickly jerks her eyes away from that.

"Technically, I'm not a student," Ace states. Either he's pretending not to notice her overt perv or actually oblivious. Whatever it is, he doesn't say anything about it to Nami's gratitude.

"Technically?"

"Here, anyway. I graduated a couple years ago. I go to the university nearby." He looks down, checks the time on a simple brown watch with a blue face and white hands with red tips, "The bell's going to go soon. Come on, I'll take you through a shortcut so Hancock won't go nuts." With that, he starts walking at a natural, loping stride across the courtyard, past the fountain.

"Is Hancock even supposed to know you're here?" she hisses as she follows him.

"You misunderstand me. I'm dropping you off at least a hundred metres away."

Nami laughs and Ace cracks a smile. He makes an abrupt turn into a narrow space between two buildings and turns around when Nami hesitates, "Come on. No spiders, promise."

Admittedly, she didn't like narrow, dark spaces. Not for spiders, but sharks.

Determined not to lose face though, Nami twisted herself sideways to get within the small opening. They emerged some slow seconds later at what resembles a small plaza with a few flights of steps leading to different buildings on all four sides. The tops of the buildings effectively block most of the sun, setting half the space in shadow. The medieval similarity is unsettling, much like the whole school; as if every place had been plucked up off its foundations from their respective time periods and dropped in a mismatched cluster. The effect is disorienting, even for her.

"Are you going to tell me why you're even here?" Nami asks, "And more importantly, how you find your way in a place like this?"

"Killing time between classes," Ace shrugs as he walks confidently to the foot of one set of steps, "Sometimes it gets boring over there so I come here. It's fun. As for your second question, I've been here for years so I know the place. You, on the other hand, seem to be a natural at finding your way around." He doesn't give her time to react to the comment but turns and bows with a flourish, resembling a butler, "Your destination."

Nami actually has to stifle another smile, "Do you kill time here much?"

"Usually it's split between Makino's and coming here," he replies, "Mainly looking out for Luffy."

_At school? _She finds it a bit odd, but doesn't comment. Instead she walks ahead, noting the look of the arched doorway to remember for future reference, "You missed my point." She turns when she reaches the mouth of the doorway and leans against the frame, "I knew the way back, you know."

The amused smile appears again, "I know."

* * *

The rest of the day consisted of mostly detachment on Nami's part. She was polite but only spoke when prompted and she never missed a cue to smile or nod as the social convention commanded. She wondered, briefly, during the end of social studies with the taciturn Bartholomew, if she was coming off as rude or snobbish. She also tried to tell herself that it shouldn't matter.

Luffy, at least, seemed undeterred. The others simply followed his lead except, she noted, for Roronoa Zoro who treated her indifferently, if not warily. Usopp appeared the most normal of the lot and Chopper still too shy to provide much more than awkward silence.

At lunch, somehow, she'd managed to slip away and ate a pre-packed lunch out on the medieval plaza by herself. Then she resumed tagging along with a Pirate crew, hating, and not hating, every second of it.

* * *

When school ends, Luffy walks with her to the entrance while Usopp and Chopper attempt to wake a near-comatose Zoro by the end of Biology. Trafalgar had made no move to help, despite being the teacher; only beginning to tidy his desk and shooting an annoyed, but accustomed, glare at the trio.

"I'm going to the police station," she tells him as they clear the gates amid other students. The novelty of Luffy's little stunt had thankfully worn off but Nami would still prefer less scrutinising from her peers. First and easiest way to do that is to associate with Monkey D. Luffy as little as humanly possible.

"OK," Luffy shrugs and continues walking her route, "Let's go."

"Isn't Makino's on the other side of town?" she tries, exasperatedly following this kid once again, "I know my way now."

"Nope, not gonna work." Luffy locks his fingers around the nape of his neck and pushes his elbows out in a carefree manner.

"Are you doing this on purpose?" she demands.

"Sure. I like you, you're interesting," he laughs good-naturedly, "Even if you won't join my crew, let's be friends."

"Uh-huh," she frowns at him, "You're kind of pushy so I'm going to be an acquaintance for now."

"That's so complicated," he huffs, frowning back, "Either we're friends or not friends. That's simpler."

"Ac-quain-tance," she enunciates, "You've known me for a day, not even. We can't be friends that quickly."

_Or easily_, she thinks.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four – Somewhere near East Blue District Police Station**

* * *

Monkey D. Luffy could very well be a tracker. The grandfather is a commander, his eldest grandson the inside man and his youngest a trained tracker-cross-bloodhound, Nami decides. No matter how many times she tries to lose him in the bustling streets of the East Blue district, he manages to always appear beside her once again and never once did he look the least bit exerted at all. In fact, he looked jovial, as if they were playing some fun game of cat and mouse; either that or because his eyes light up whenever they pass a restaurant which is about every fourth establishment.

They pass a seventh restaurant – a Korean place with the delicious aroma of sizzling meat and spicy stew – and Luffy is instantly drawn to it, mouth-watering. Like every other place though, as soon as they clear it, he snaps back to normal.

"You _can_ get something to eat," she says finally, "I'll only be at the police station for the rest of the afternoon."

"I will, at Baratie's," he replies, grinning, "Everything out here is great but Sanji and the old man's cooking is the best!"

"Baratie…?" Nami cocks her head, wondering why the name sounds so familiar. She shrugs it off, "What do you usually eat?"

"Everything," his eyes become small rainbows again, "Meat stew, fried rice with meat, meat ice cream—"

"What?"

"—barbeque meat, combination meat, meat kebabs, meat-lovers pizza, meat noodle soup, roast meat, fried meat, meat buns, grilled meat, smoked meat—"

"So anything with meat?" Nami summarises.

"Pretty much. You can't go wrong with meat. Hey," Luffy turns to her, "Let's go eat there sometime when you're free."

"Later," she replies, "I have work and homework to catch up on." Not entirely a lie; even though she thinks the work is mercifully simple so far, "And I think you do too. Weren't you building a sword out of markers in Psychology today?" The police building is close. She can see the shiny panels about to blind her in the afternoon sun.

He waves off the comment, "Sure, but you have to take a break sometime! Working all day is boring," he screws up his face, "And I can't concentrate anyway. So what time do you get off?" The last part he adds on as an afterthought when he also sees the building.

_He's like a puppy; a bloodhound pup._

"Late. Look, Luffy, I'll see you later, OK?" she partly turns and gives a short wave, "I'll be right from here. See you."

She turns and is immediately knocked back, "Oof!" It takes a second for the collision to register and her annoyance flares, already exhausted of politeness in shaking off one boy, "Hey, would you look where you're—"

She had bumped into a man. She looks up at him, anger seething, and registers the short blonde hair, the full lips that would be enviable by any socialite but only ridiculous on the man's face and the tall, well-built stature of a Pirate.

Quickly, her mouth clamps shut against whatever comment would have escaped next with such force she almost draws blood. Her eyes feel dry from never blinking once since recognising his face (even though barely a second, less, has passed) and she hopes – begs – Luffy does not see. She hopes more that he does not see her skilled fingers fold inwards on themselves, sealing the scrap of paper between them and her cold palm.

"I'm sorry," she forces out. The voice that represents her is low, throaty, utterly unafraid, and completely bullshit.

The man opposite does not reply, merely casting his glance downwards at her hand. Subtly, Nami nods once. _I got it._

He nods in reply and brushes past her.

"Hey, are you OK?" Luffy asks beside her. She can almost hear the frown in his voice, "What a jerk, doesn't even say anything." She hears him turn and presumably flip off the man, maybe even stick out his tongue, knowing him.

She begs he – either of them – doesn't turn back around. If one turns, they will both get hurt and if the other does, only she will. As selfish as it is, Nami can't decide which is worse.

_Don't turn around. Please._

* * *

Tashigi proves to be a beneficial ally within the workplace. Nami mentally pats herself on the back and files away the feeling as an accomplishment of the day. _You did well with this one_.

Friendly, with just the right dose of authority and demeanour to effectively run the lower half of the building; Tashigi reminds Nami of a bat to the Dracula with future lung cancer that is Smoker, upstairs. Tashigi's quiet mostly but, with enough provocation, lunges at her enemy screeching. Not to mention, she's blind as a bat and has a habit of frequently misplacing her glasses, only furthering the comparison.

The best thing about Tashigi is her respect of space. She briefs Nami on protocol, general locations of the facilities and her responsibilities within the workplace. Then she mainly leaves her alone to it, excusing herself to catch up with her own work. Nami decides she likes Tashigi, for now. Anyone who can brief a fire drill in less than fifteen seconds is worthy of praise.

Sitting alone at her desk now, though, Nami feels a strange urge to use those shiny, metal ballpoint pens as darts.

_I thought a police station would be a little livelier._

Her eyes flicker to the clock stationed above the front doors. 4:56PM. She sighs, awaiting a long evening and turns a full revolution in her fancy office chair, coming to a stop when she sees a silhouette approaching the doors.

"Ain-ch—!" a tall, burly man comes in, decked out in what appears to be the police uniform. The sleeves are hacked off and expose his tightly muscled arms. He is rugged with a tan face and an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips. At the sight of her, he raises his eyebrow and reaches up to pluck the cigarette out of his mouth, using the other to withdraw a lighter from his pocket.

"Ain-chan's off-duty or something?" he asks as he ambles closer.

"Not exactly; a couple of officers came down and took her out a while ago. There was an anonymous tip about a Pirate gang in the area. They thought Ain would be able to help."

"Former criminals helping to catch criminals, huh?" the man flicks the metal box to ignite it, and then cups his hand around the cigarette, "Don't mind if a guy takes a smoke?"

She shrugs, "Go ahead."

He smiles, clearly amused by her. She returns it, noting where he deposits the lighter. _Right pocket. _

"So you're new, huh? What's your name?"

"Nami." She's beginning to feel a bit tired with repeating herself all day, introducing herself all the time and generally the whole process of trying to fit in. She'd experienced it enough to know she hated it, especially with people who stare a little too far south to be friendly.

Then again, those are the people who are easiest to manipulate.

"Are you going up to see the captain?" she asks and stands up, deliberately making a show of stretching her long, slender arms as she walks to the elevators and presses the button with the upright arrow, "I'm pretty sure he's still in there."

"Uh, right," the man shakes himself, clearly flustered. His right hand comes up to pull out the cigarette in some motion of confidence as he blows out smoke…

…leaving his right pocket wide open.

By the time the elevator doors even close, Nami is already seated back in her chair, twirling the lighter between her fingers. _5:00PM_

The phone rings, or 'beeps' might be a better way of describing it. It's a quiet beep, making the 'click' of the receiver ominously loud in the silent lobby. Nami lifts it up and holds the receiver to her ear. Even though she was told to recite specific lines courtesy of Tashigi, she doesn't say any of that. She says, "Yes?"

"Want to tell me why there's a bunch of police on my tail?"

"Anonymous tip." Nami becomes acutely aware her hand is already growing numb from its grip on the receiver. She consciously forces herself to relax. _You're in a police station. There is no safer place than a police station. _

Arlong scoffs on the other end, "Right. I'll believe it when Chew and Kuroobi come back. I suppose you or your sister just happened to find some change near a payphone?"

"It wasn't us. We have a deal, we abide by it."

"Sure, Nami." His voice is pleasant enough but the underlying threat still makes its way to the surface, freezing her muscles with frost.

"Speaking of which, my payment is coming a little late. If it's coming at all, that is.

"I'm getting a little impatient, Nami. If I'm tempted enough, I might have to access my insurance – that little account you've been safekeeping—"

"You'll get your money," Nami interjects, "Tonight. Ten-thirty." She aims high, allowing plenty of time to get home at the end of her shift and complete some homework. Nojiko should be home by then and they would both go to Arlong. She'd better remember to swipe some pepper spray off an officer's desk too. She didn't know what kind of creeps would be stalking around at that hour. She also hopes for a Taser gun, just in case.

"F District, Nami. Ask around," he simply says. The line goes cold.

Slowly, slowly, Nami puts the receiver down and rests her elbow next the machine. Her right temple presses down onto the heel of her hand as she regains her pulse. _One, two, three, four… _

_F District, _she sits up, smoothing out her posture as if all is well and runs her fingers up and over the crown of her head, tugging the thick ponytail into a tighter knot. Somehow, the little things – breathing, fixing her appearance, feeling the cool touch of her bangle – makes her feel calmer and maintain some semblance of control, and sanity.

Nami rolls over to the large map behind its protective screen on the wall behind her desk and scans the large area of the East Blue district. There are lines of roads and streets. There is also an underlying red watermark image of the subway system.

At the end of one pale red line is a prominent black sphere and bold printed letters: **F District**. It's situated towards the edge of the boundaries of East Blue. The entire area is sprawling with compressed squares and angular shapes, representing many buildings. The larger ones are likely the remains of factories or perhaps warehouses. Those were usually the easiest places to hole up a Pirate crew.

"Incredible, isn't it?"

Ain's tall, slender figure comes to a smooth stop beside Nami. The automatic entrance doors hiss close, it seems, way too late as if the motion is buffering. _How is she so _quick_?_

"I didn't think you'd be back—" she starts.

Ain shrugs one shoulder, spilling a curtain of dark blue hair on either side of it, "It was a dead end. So we came back."

"'We'?"

"_I_ did," Ain lifts one finger and traces a path through the mess of symbols and lines, "I lost one man here. The other," her finger sweeps swiftly left, closer to the bold 'X' marking the police station, "Here." She withdraws her hand and stands still for a second, surveying the map. Nami cannot tell what she is thinking. Tashigi had given her a very brief briefing on her work and desk-mate. Including the fact that she was once a criminal.

"_The Neo force, heard of them? We're in short supply right now so we just pluck up criminals left and right and drop them into desk jobs 'cause y'know, they might be useful."_

At least Nami is ninety-nine percent sure that is exactly how Tashigi explained it to her ears. She was probably otherwise occupied at the time repeating her mantra: "_There is no God, there is no God, there is no God…_" and also the voice of Oprah Winfrey ("_You _get a criminal! _You _get a criminal! _Everyone _gets a criminal!").

"Someone came in wanting to greet you too," Nami tells her instead, "Big, burly guy with a thug gang's vest and chain smoker?"

"Cigarette Ash?" Ain walks over to her seat and gracefully sits down, back stick-straight, "Glad I missed him. If he tries to make a move, I keep ballpoint pens fully stocked."

Nami rolls her chair over to slip behind her desk, discreetly slipping both the lighter and paper into her pocket, "They work pretty well as darts too."

Ain nods solemnly, "That, too." Her eyes are a very unique colour, Nami thinks. A cross between red and brown – no, like a blend of carmine and berry when the light hits them. They contrast with the thick blue hair that curves around to hug her neck. She is pretty, Nami thinks: refined somehow, like a traditional beauty.

"Are you a 'reformed criminal'?" Ain asks. Her tone is very direct, though it hitches a little over the last two words, as if mocking them.

"Nope, regular poor student."

"Are you planning on joining the force?" she inclines her head backwards toward the elevators.

"No."

At this, Ain almost smiles.

"We'll get along," she says.

* * *

At some point around six-thirty-seven, Nami gets up and excuses herself to the bathroom. Whilst there, she pops open the primitive frame of a window and leans out, as far as she can, before taking the lighter to the piece of paper handed to her by a Pirate. The numbers curl and blacken; burn, burn, burn, like she wants her memory to.

The smoke drifts up, further, higher until it cannot be seen anymore and disappears –

(like she wants her memory to).

* * *

At seven-twenty-five, Ash fumbles with a spare key into his office cursing his bad luck. First the lighter, now his office key is lost too.

_Just one of those days, _he curses, jamming the metal piece into the lock and jerking it awkwardly in his large grip. Once inside, everything is undisturbed, but for his lighter. It sits upright next to his pack of cigarettes with his office key on its chain wrapped around it.

* * *

At seven-thirty, Nami knocks on the door adjacent to Captain Smoker's office. It is quite a plain door, unmarked and smooth. The metal handle jerks once and Tashigi opens the door, revealing the appropriately messy office of someone who receives most of the paperwork from her Captain. He is a great authoritarian but not the most delicate in language, assigning most of the diplomacy and correspondence tasks to his second-in-command. The desk is cluttered with sheets of paper and open files despite an open laptop as well.

"Tashigi-chan, I'm telling you there's no way my lighter and key could have ended up in my office! I wasn't even in there today! Someone's stolen my gear and—"

"Ash, please, I am very busy today," Tashigi glares momentarily at the paper stack but never once turns the same look towards the adjacent door, "Nothing's wrong, right? Nothing's even stolen or touched. Someone probably just accidentally took them somehow and just returned them, OK? Now if you'll excuse me – oh, Nami, what is it?"

"I'm sorry, were you…?"

"Ah, no, Ash was just leaving," she stands aside, holding open the door and gesturing with a flourish.

"Tashigi-chan—" Ash complains.

"_Now_."

With a grumble, he marches out, still managing to tip his head slightly at Nami. She returns a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry about that. What is it?" Tashigi leans against the door frame and adjusts her glasses, closing her eyes for a brief second, likely out of exhaustion.

"Ain-san mentions you tend to forget about the time. I really need to catch up on some work…"

"Huh?" Tashigi twists her head so sharply she narrowly misses smashing it against the door jamb. She rushes back into her office and behind her desk, jolting her laptop to life. Nami has to dart forward and prop a hand against the door to prevent it from swinging shut.

"Oh God, it's past seven-thirty already." Tashigi plants both hands on the desk and drops her head, letting out a deep sigh. Then she straightens and rubs her temples, "Nami, you're free to go. Sorry, I would have forgotten completely."

"Don't worry about it. You're busy." Nami walks hesitantly into the office. It's warm and welcoming, despite the chaotic mess and thankfully, smells like the beach and the morning, compared to the nicotine in the other room.

"This is pretty much a typical day," Tashigi says, gesturing to the scattering, "Before, during and after coffee."

Nami laughs and approaches the table, covered with lines of sheets of paper and enough ink to publish a novel. She quickly discerns the common sets of sheets based on their format, content and page numbers.

"How about I help you clean up a bit? I've still got time."

"Seriously?" Tashigi sits up straighter in her chair which she'd dropped into and her face breaks out into a relieved smile, "Thanks, that'd be great. Uh, maybe if you organise everything to this side of the laptop…?"

"Sure." Nami drags over a chair and perches on the seat as she grabs the first stack of papers, "Do you have bulldog clips?"

"You would think so, huh?" Tashigi reaches over and pulls out a drawer. Within is what looks like tens of staplers with tattered boxes of staples pushed up against the sides. She also gestures to a metal bin filled with multi-coloured paperclips, "Good luck."

* * *

"You know none of this has a chance of holding for more than a week, tops."

"Oh don't I know it." Tashigi delicately places the last stack of paper, with a sadly inadequate staple struggling to attach the back and front page, into a folder of the cabinet, "But, it'll do for now." She pushes the heavy slab of a metal drawer shut and turns to face her, "Thank you. I mean it; this is really helpful right now."

"No worries," Nami replies, "Though, I'd save that sentiment until these papers are still together tomorrow morning."

"It'll be fine. We've gotten a lot worse, believe me," Tashigi grins and returns to her laptop, which had to be hooked up to a charger halfway through the clean-up, "Anyway, you've definitely worked your fill today. It's getting late, I'm sure— SHIT!" Her face contorts in such a way that her glasses drop half off her face. She gawks at the monitor and only utters, "It's already ten…"

"WHAT?" Nami pushes herself off the cabinet and glances out the window. The night is black as pitch.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise it was so late—!" Tashigi is saying. Nami can't even hear her.

_Ten thirty, ten thirty, ten thirty…_

"_My insurance, Nami…"_

"I need to use your phone," Nami says. Her voice is firm, if not slightly wavering. She hopes Tashigi does not notice that, "Please."

* * *

Minutes later, wandering around the lobby with Tashigi's phone pressed against her ear, Nami hears Nojiko breathing fire down the line. Not hot, red fire but icy, blue inferno. The latter of which happens to be much hotter.

"Where are you and give me one good reason why I should not run you over on sight."

"I'm still at the police station and I advise not because I believe that constitutes murder and my new boss will arrest you on sight."

"I could prove manslaughter and get a lower sentence."

"Probably."

As furious as Nojiko is, she never holds a grudge. In fact she probably already got over it the second she heard Nami's voice. Nami can almost hear a subtle smile in her voice now. (Slowly, slowly, the words that brought them both so much grief were able to be formed on their lips and spoken. But as always, a leaden silence follows).

"Well, I've been trying to call you. See, thing is, I'm still at work too. The restaurant's got late stragglers and I'm stuck on shift."

"Oh…" Nami feels her hopes drop. She had been hoping the unanswered call at home had just meant her sister fell into one of her heavy naps. She'd tried the restaurant Nojiko worked by night just in case and managed to get a hold of her.

"What's wrong?"

"I need a car now."

Immediately, her sister picks up on the implication, "Tonight?"

Nami simply stays silent. Then she says, "Ten-thirty."

Her sister is silent again. Then she says, "How much money do we have?"

"Not enough for a taxi. I could try the subway or walk to the restaurant—"

"No way, not by yourself. You are not walking around anywhere this late at night without a getaway option either." She adds on the last bit as Nami begins to protest and becomes very quiet as she always does when she's thinking. Nami can't even hear the intervals of her breathing on the phone. She imagines Nojiko chewing on her bottom lip, favouring the right side more than the left, and her left hand cradling the elbow of her right so it is perpendicular as she holds the phone. Little habits, they give so much away. Even without seeing her, Nami knows how Nojiko behaves when she is stressed. It only lasts nine seconds and then Nojiko speaks in a practiced voice, too calm to be authentic.

"Get someone to drive you here. Then get the car and go."

"Like I have time for all that!" Nami exclaims. She still has the map in the lobby memorized without need of having to turn around to confirm. Nojiko's restaurant and F District are definitely on near polar opposites of it. She wouldn't bet on traffic being the most accommodating around this time either, at least in the city.

"Even less if you keep arguing with me," Nojiko replies calmly, "Right now, that's your only option though, unless you want to steal a police car." She allows a momentary pause and then says, "_No_, Nami, don't. Just come here. We'll just have to be a little late this time. OK? Now, I'm busy. See you." Then, without waiting for a reply, she cuts the line and the dial tone rings in Nami's ear. Each drone sounds suspiciously and ominously like a heart dying.

Perhaps her own heart would sound the same soon. As it were, it feels like the muscle is pounding in her chest at an irregular rate. She feels numb and then scorched in various places, sometimes at the same time as she tries to make sense of the situation. The payment _could not _be late. She _would not _take that risk.

_What should I do?_

The lobby phone rings.

_She changed her mind? _Nami dives for the receiver; almost knocking over the ballpoint pen structure she had painstakingly taught Ain to build (she wanted to win at something since Ain could win at darts blindfolded, literally) and snatches up the handle, "Hello?"

Three seconds later, the receiver is rammed back into its place following the age-old "Is Seymour there? Last name Butz?"

_Goddamn fuckwits, _Nami thinks, near close to snapping the receiver in half before slowly releasing it, one finger by one finger and methodically marching her way back towards the centre of the lobby.

"Everything OK?" Tashigi walks towards her as the elevator doors reunite once more in cheery tune. She has a simple bag slung over one shoulder adorned with zippers and what Nami suspects are Velcro pockets. Virtually pickpocket-proof, of course. In her other hand are a set of car keys, as if mocking her. On a regular day, she could easily steal those and take off without bringing a police officer as a freebie.

_If only she wasn't a police officer, _Nami thinks begrudgingly.

And just like that, her solution came to her.

* * *

"Is it called 'F' District for the felons?"

"Common question at the station." Tashigi answers as she throws on her indicator, unlike a drunken speeder a couple of streets back. Tashigi had ordered Nami to remember the numberplate (a jolt in the road knocked Tashigi's glasses, making her temporarily blind and unable to do so) in lieu of pursuing the driver for the case Nami had urged on her.

"Where's this idiot?" mutters Tashigi, squinting ahead in her headlight's range, "Nami, do you see him anywhere?"

'Him' being a fake drunken oaf Nami had come up with in the spur of the moment.

"_Tashigi, I just got an anonymous tip from someone; says they've got a drunk friend somewhere in F District. He thinks his friend's in trouble; he won't pick up his phone and he – the caller – says his friend's racked up a debt with some of the guys there."_

Of course, there was also the problem of talking Tashigi into why she should be allowed to tag along. In the end it had come down to more bullshit. The most convincing bullshit had a sliver of truth.

"_I think I know who it is, Tashigi. I can identify him if I see him."_

"_Identify him? You've been in the city for a day and you've already seen enough people to identify someone?" she'd asked sceptically, "I don't think it'd be hard to find one drunken idiot."_

"_In F District? There must be dozens of them there." she'd taken a gamble there, but could see her leverage in Tashigi's expression. She'd made a point. _

"_What's the guy's name?"_

_She'd been glad she burned the paper, "Chu Kisu."_

_Tashigi had frowned, unfamiliar with the name. Then, exhaling loudly, she'd stormed out, "Come on."_

"For God's sake," Tashigi continues muttering as she turns into another side-street, "Time after time, why can't people just live a good, honest life? I bet this guy's already got some record in the system when I find him. I wouldn't even be surprised if—"

_A good, honest life huh? _Nami thinks. She shifts uncomfortably in the police officer uniform Tashigi had made her change into under the logic that criminals tend to steer clear of anyone in uniform. She even has her own gun ("self-defence _only_") held securely in a holder in the central console. To an outsider, she seemed, absolutely, the police officer, an enforcer of the law – a 'good' person – but then people are rarely all as how they appear to be; even more rarely, all as their 'good' qualities make them to be.

"I'm sorry."

Nami blinks, sitting up straight, "I'm sorry, what?"

Tashigi looks at her concernedly in her peripheral, "I shouldn't be loading this stuff out on you. It – it's not right. I'm sorry you had to hear all that. I shouldn't… I know I shouldn't be making excuses, but I'm just tired. It's been a long week."

"Don't worry about it," Nami replies. She stares out the window at the many dark structures flying past in the dusk; craggy rocks reaching out to capsize her dingy ship barely keeping itself afloat. Her conscience is almost winning at this rate. She shakes herself, seeing those structures loom closer, closer… On the left, she saw two people, no three, four, struggling to stay afloat like she is. One of them yells as another kicks him in the ribs, another swings a fist and another cusses.

_Hunter and hunted, kill or be killed, that's how it's always been_.

"There, Tashigi!" Nami is surprised at herself. Her voice is a decibel away from shrieking, "There! There, left!"

One thing that could be said for police – they didn't ask stupid questions or fool around with their driving capabilities. Tashigi screeches to a stop a few metres from the scuffle and throws open the door the second the vehicle comes to a stop. Without pause, she leaps agilely out, completely within her comfort zone as she yells orders and unlocks the safety on her gun in anticipation of resistance.

Opposite the driver's side, another figure leaps to the ground with gun in hand; a little more silently, a little more gracefully, a little more within her comfort zone; for she had been doing this for much longer.

The second figure runs.


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five – Somewhere in F District**

* * *

Nami runs hard and fast, breathing evenly in through her nose and out through her mouth. Beneath her slender frame is lean muscle and although she is far from her physical peak, she is able to push herself when needed. Once she clears the shadows of the nearest alley and neither feels nor hears any indication of pursuit behind her, she abruptly stops and sidesteps into the narrow space between two dumpsters lining the cinderblock building. Putrid odours assault her in more ways than just her sense of smell and she forces herself to hold her breath and peek out beyond the rusty, dented dumpster lid. Far, far away, she foresees the faint flashing of fluorescent red and blue lights turn the corner and pursue its prey.

Nothing moves.

Safe.

Nami lifts herself up, feeling a faint tightness in her chest from the running and allows her breathing to deepen, pushing oxygen through her veins. Reaching up, she removes the hairband and shakes out her long orange hair; her identifiable feature as far as Arlong and his crew are concerned. She hopes someone decides to look at her hair first and uniform second, lest any more complications hinder her.

Upon emerging from the alleyway, heart pounding in remembering several slasher films where the victim is yanked back into the darkness with a flash of pale hands and blades; Nami shakes off the shadow's grip and immerses herself fully in the more spacious street.

There is light, which is more than she expects. Streetlights line the road and surprisingly, few are broken, their subdued beams illuminating the graffiti designs on their post. Some structures also receive light and look significantly more unintimidating than their dark counterparts. Around her, figures meander solo or, the saner and safer ones, in groups of two to five. Most commonly, Nami sees dark clothes, ripped material, piercings, tattoos; all the mainstream things associated with these areas, but sometimes she sees white-collar persons and young, innocent children.

It is to one of the latter she asks, "Do you know where Arlong is?"

The child holds a stuffed toy, clutching it to her chest. Silently, she points with her empty hand down the street, towards what looks like a large empty space next to the towering buildings on either side.

"Thank you," she says. The girl almost smiles at her, but suddenly her eyes are frozen in fear. Nami feels a shadow fall over her.

"Whatsa a pretty girl like y' doin' out so late?" a drunken slur inquires. A hard grip crushes her upper arm, making Nami cry out. Quickly, she gently shoves the other girl, urging her away. _Go. Quick. _Luckily, the girl does; turning and running away, her dark hair flying behind her. Selfish, but... selfish is what keeps one safe here.

"Hey, let's go, huh?" the drunk continues, twisting her around to face him, "I always want'd fuck a police chick."

"Get off, you creep!" Nami yells, kicking out with one leg. Her other hand fumbles for the gun but it's on the wrong side. The man's hard grip prevents her twisting to secure a grip on the handle to pull it out. Around them, others stop and observe the situation, some merely moving on without care.

"Fucking bitch," growls the man, his grip becoming near crushing now as his face contorts with momentary pain. His other arm swings back, hand forming a fist.

Nami grits her teeth against the pain and fear and claws for her gun. Her fingers find it, wrap themselves around its handle and yank it out. The man's punch veers slightly off course but it has force behind it. Nami pulls herself back at the last second but the hit clips her cheek, temporarily numbing her face and then setting it alight in pain. She screws up her face and pulls up the gun, "Back off! NOW!"

"Fucking—!" the man stumbles back, releasing the grip on her arm and topples backwards in the process, scrambling back on hands and knees. His eyes are wide and afraid on the gun as he turns and stumbles upright, taking off down the street.

Nami watches his retreating form for a moment longer before lowering the gun, feeling the adrenaline leave her body, leaving in its place the hollow emptiness of diluted fears, not just of the threat outside but within. The bystanders had appropriately exited the scene, quickly abandoning the girl alone; all except for one.

"He was getting impatient, Nami," he says.

"Not exactly my fault," she replies, turning to face another muscled, powerful form. Kuroobi. His hair is still strictly pulled back in a severe ponytail, making the veins on his face stand out. She can't even tell where his form begins and ends against the backdrop of the dark street for he is clothed in inky dark clothes. He refuses to step into the light.

"Are you affiliated with the police now?" he asks, the words weighed down with lead. Even from here, his eyes narrow in the threateningly sharp blades winking at Nami from the dark; like the lines of barbed wire poised to entrap and slice her open with the wrong answer.

"It's a set-up. You know that," Nami can't help but drop her eyes from his intense stare. In fear of implying dishonesty, she quickly merges the action with a furtive glance over her shoulder, "Though not for long if we're still out here. I came here with a police officer."

"What did you say?" Kuroobi is on her in an instant, gripping her arm (her good arm on purpose she is sure) in such strength that transcends the drunk's by a hundredfold. Nami can almost feel their bones crushing each other through measly layers of skin. She cries out, "I had no choice!"

Kuroobi only growls in response, half pulling, half dragging the girl up the street and into the shadows once more.

* * *

At some point when Nami was fourteen, perhaps fifteen, Nojiko counted days. Their foster home at the time, when Nojiko was seventeen in her final year of high school, was one of the most miserable times of Nami's life and the most miserable year of Nojiko's life. At least Nami thought so.

High school senior year was expensive, busy and stressful… no one had coped well and the pressure on Nojiko was enormous. Nami could see it in the way her sister had smiled, laughed and held herself so gracefully with all the composure of someone who had something to hide. No one who had no worries could have accomplished it.

In their shared room at night, when Nojiko thought Nami was asleep, she would unearth a simple desk calendar, cross out another day, put it back in its hideout and repeat the process the next night. When a month passed, she would tear off the page and start counting once more, until she turned eighteen. When that day came, Nami remembered feeling confused as Nojiko ran across the parking lot, threw both of their bags like stolen loot into the backseat of her car and swung into the driver's side with the first genuine grin Nami had seen in a long time.

"_Let's GO!_" Nojiko yelled, laughing.

Since then, Nami had never wanted to see anything but that expression permanently engraved into her mind of her sister. She knew it was an unrealistic dream, and she was right. But there were some, some instances where Nami could keep that precious smile on Nojiko's face, and she would. So, a year ago, Nami had opened a separate bank account and slowly, slowly, she took care of it and watched it grow.

* * *

_Grow; keep growing, _Nami wishes to herself as she pulls on her glove and punches in the line of numbers into the ATM. She extracts the correct amount and, with every eye in the room on the money in her hands, offers the whole lot to Arlong.

"The police must pay well," Arlong smirks, his large hand grasping all of the notes that had to be held by two of her own, "Or Nojiko's picked up another job."

Nami stays silent.

"Come on now, Nami, surely you haven't lost your wit."

Silence.

Arlong cocks one eyebrow but then only scoffs, "Very well, Nami; play your game." He shoves the money aside, carelessly letting the notes fly in a whirlwind; the precious notes Nami would do anything to hold again. _How dare he, how _dare _he… _She bit her lip against the anger rising like a wave inside her, watching the money fall to the ground. Arlong smirks, clearly aware of her anguish.

"Well," he concludes, sitting back comfortably in his seat within the shadows, "it's nice doing business again, Nami. Your police pet must be looking for you by now. We'd better let you go… but, wait. What story do you plan on giving him for your escapade? For being seen with Kuroobi there who, of course, must escort you back safely. Dangerous streets, you know." His grin grows wider, glinting like a crescent moon in the dark, "What will be your story, Nami?"

"The police _officer _is a 'her'," Nami says coldly. She savours the small moment before she allows herself to be cornered again, "I can only have one explanation." _One that you'll back up anyway._

"And that is?"

"'I was attacked by a thug; I, I didn't know what to— I—'" Nami alters her voice to break and quiver as she recites her story she would repeat. The effort almost brings tears to her eyes if she hadn't already forced herself to cry by refraining from blinking. Her throat constricts and she gulps and gasps, only allowing short, shaky breaths escape her lips.

"You always were a very good con artist," Arlong says approvingly, watching her pitiful display. Nami bites her lip hard between her teeth, not at all for the benefit of her acting. _Arlong. Arlong, _she growls the name in her mind, wanting nothing more for it, him, to disappear and burn, burn, burn. Her anger temporarily overrides her fear and she clenches her fists to halt the surge of hatred that threatens to break her acting. _Just entertain him a little longer… just a little longer…_

"… But we'd better complete the effect of a thug attack… shouldn't we, Kuroobi?" his voice cuts like knives in her thoughts and they shatter… replaced by an ominous sense of dread and thoughts of fear replacing the ones of anger.

The presence of Kuroobi approaching her from behind feels like blood staining the remnants. She no longer has to act. She screams.

* * *

_His name, his voice, his laugh, his threats and his words echoes all around her in the shadows. Calling their names, hunting them, finding them, and controlling them… for so long; so, so long…_

_Just leave us alone! She wants to scream but her throat is constricted and all that escapes it is a low, guttural whimper as she flees once more, urging her sister in front of her._

_They run, run, run until their hair grows longer and billows around their face, as if that will hide them, their legs longer and leaner and their stride longer and farther than ever… yet never enough to escape him._

* * *

The world comes into focus in a series of blurs and sound. The hum of faraway traffic and some whirring of unidentifiable origin attack Nami's throbbing headache with a vengeance. She groans into her pillow and attempts to rise. As she does so, a sharp pain stabs her temple. She winces and automatically raises an arm to the source, only to suffer the soreness of her forearm as it flexes. She also hits the underside of the shelf… again. Only this time, the books atop it grumble with the disruption but thankfully, none fall off.

_What… _she holds still in an attempt to cut off any further pain and stares blankly at the flaking, far green wall. The light cheerily fills the room, illuminating everything in soft, morning glow.

Morning. Pirate Academy.

When Nami, spurred by a shot of adrenaline and fear (for the image of Hancock nailing her to the desk unhelpfully resurfaced), barrels out of the hallway with her blazer thrown over her shoulders, she registers one of two things.

The other of the two things is her sister who drops her half-eaten toast in surprise right into her coffee mug. The thing Nami registers is the police officer sitting at her kitchen table.

"Nami?" Tashigi rises, abandoning her own food and smoothly cutting off her path of escape to the door, "I understand you must be late but—"

"Nami, for God's sake," Nojiko doesn't rise after glaring at her submerged toast but does lean back enough in her chair to make eye contact. When she does, her gaze softens, "Officer Tashigi is here. She wants to ask some questions—"

"About last night," Tashigi cuts in, seeming impatient to cut to the point, "It's crucial we get some details while you might remember them."

"Last, night?" Nami utters the two words with caution. _Last night? I was working, and—_

_Arlong._

Nami lets her bangle fall to her wrist, loops her fingers around it and squeezes, hard, "Last night. I remember. What do you need to know?"

They both end up sitting at the table and Nojiko does not budge despite needing to go to work herself. Nami finally convinces her to go and then it's just the bluffing con artist and the police officer at the table.

"My teachers have low tolerance for tardiness. You'll understand if I hope this doesn't take too long."

"A police investigation should be enough to excuse you from any consequences," Tashigi replies. She acts in a professional, business-like manner as she clicks her pen, "Normally, you'd be at the station, but in this case I'm willing to make an exception for your memory's longevity and your condition." Here she looks up, "Your sister insisted no hospital treatment."

"Yes." Arlong wanted no records against him; he always made sure to do just the right amount of damage and just so that it would not be unexplainable to people who notice. Nami already rehearsed her speech (temple bruise – the shelf, leg bruise – table, shoulder and arm – door jamb…) thoroughly enough as she dressed.

"You're lucky. It wasn't a bad attack, statistically. You feel nothing is broken or sprained or in particular pain?"

"No."

"Then let's start talking about your attack. Please keep in mind any detail is helpful in the investigation, so don't hold back." Tashigi's gaze focusses in practiced concentration as she prepares to take notes, "What did your attacker look like?"

* * *

In the middle of second period, Nami is still pushed in running laps around the oval by Mihawk who appears either oblivious or, the more likely, apathetic towards her admission of just being involved in a police interrogation and the bruises which now seem starkly in contrast with her white PE uniform. He simply orders, "Twenty, no less" while glaring at a particular pair of stragglers.

It feels like agony to run, but also comforting in a way. Nami is aware of the end, of the goal she has to reach before it's over and she spurs herself to get there. Soon, the rhythm of the ground echoing beneath her feet becomes a soothing melody that she forces herself not to break by keeping the same, steady pace. Running becomes a lot more leisurely when the runner becomes the hunter and not the prey, she notes idly.

In the middle of a similar thought, a sudden impact knocks her shoulder, sending her stumbling a few paces before resuming her steady run again. A laugh beside her sounds both familiar and scary; perhaps familiar because it is scary or scary because it is familiar. Nami can't decide which. Her shoulder now hurts like a bitch though and she glares at the causer, "And a good morning to you too."

"I thought you were sick or something so that's a relief," Luffy says. She imagines he is smiling cheerily though she is now studiously avoiding eye contact after the initial glare (he is really impossible to glare at for long).

"Do you have work after school again today?" he continues, "'Cause I was thinking you could come and meet the rest of my friends. They're all interested in meeting you – Brook might ask you some weird questions but that's normal and Franky's a pretty funny guy; he always goes like this—" at that Luffy jerks his body to the side and snaps both his arms together along their length, "And he yells, 'SUPER!'" He bursts into a fit of laughter as he follows her around the goal post, easily keeping up to her exceptional agility and the conversation simultaneously.

"What lap are you on?" Nami asks, her speech a little more laboured than his.

"Hm? I don't know," Luffy replies, "I just run until I'm tired or hungry. Zoro…" he looks around the oval and spots the green-haired boy a little distance ahead, "ZORO! What lap are you on?"

"Fifty three!" came the reply.

"I started running when he did. Maybe around that number?" Luffy cocks his head to the side, pondering.

"FIFTY? We only had to do twenty!" Nami exclaims.

"Yeah, but Hawky over there is Zoro's… teacher, I guess? I think he's kind of like a dad too; Zoro sleeps at his house sometimes with the ghost lady."

"Do you have nicknames for everyone?" Nami asks, frowning as she attempts to listen over her heartbeat thumping in her ears.

"Some people," Luffy says, "But my crew are different – me, Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky and Brook are just their names for me."

"You don't have a nickname for me."

"'Cause nothing fits," Luffy complains, "No matter how I look at it, it's just Nami. Like how Ace is Ace and Shanks is Shanks. Hey, have I ever told you about Shanks?"

"Nope," she's definitely panting now, yet she refuses to call quits before this boy starts at least looking like he's trying. As it is, he's effortlessly jogging, but Nami notes his form never falters, his breath never breaks and although he does not seem to physically show it, a light sheen of sweat covers his forehead.

"… and he gave me this hat years ago. When I graduate and go see him in the New World, I'll return it to him."

"What's the point of that?" Nami asks, remembering to inhale and rushes her next words, "If he gives it to you and you just give it back?"

Luffy's face returns into a content expression, "'Cause it'll show I've become a great Pirate. Shanks is a Pirate, too, you know. He's got a statue next to Ace's old man in school. He's a really, really good one, but I'll surpass him and become King of the Pirates."

Nami abruptly stops. The motion is so fast; she feels her legs lurch forward automatically to catch her stumble. Luffy runs right past her and has to backtrack, "Hey, Nami—"

"I'm done, I've done twenty," Nami exhales and stretches, her chest rising and falling steadily. She takes a shallower breath next and exhales shortly, increasing the tempo of her chest forcefully, "Besides, I'm exhausted." Her voice, she notes in a satisfied manner, is perfect (yet why is this boy still looking at her so strangely?). Finally, Luffy shrugs and continues running, "Hey, Zoro!"

"_King of the Pirates"_

Nami's breathing returns to normal as soon as the boy turns and runs. She reaches up behind her head and pulls on her ponytail, tightening it (wincing as her arm throbs dully) and turns and walks back to the shady area where the other students rest.

"You could have gone for longer," Mihawk remarks. His critical, unnervingly golden eye (_contacts_, she'd firmly told herself) watches her for a second longer and then resumes looking upon the few runners still continuing around the oval, "I expected more."

"You said twenty, right?" she replies as she takes a plastic water bottle from the collection beside him.

"At least. Keep that in mind next time."

"Sure."

Nami takes another drink as she walks over to where Usopp and Chopper lay in the grass; one facedown and the other stretched on his back respectively, "Hey."

"Hey, Nami," Chopper smiles, still rather shyly but he doesn't move away when she sits cross-legged opposite him. The other boy mumbles into the grass and Chopper adds, "Usopp says 'hey' too." He pulls himself up into a sitting position and pushes damp locks of hair off his forehead, "It's so hot… Usopp and I ran for a while with Luffy and Zoro but seriously…" he exhales heavily, blowing upwards so his hair flies for a second before flopping back down, "They're not human."

"Are they always like that?" Nami asks, watching the two figures running together. Luffy actually appears more focussed around Zoro and they silently compete, yet neither seem to really give it their all.

"Sanji used to be worse," Usopp rolls onto his side and uses his arm as a pillow, "Way worse than Luffy and Zoro together. Ah, Sanji is a couple years older than us; he's a chef at—"

"Baratie's?" Nami remembers.

"Yeah. Did Luffy tell you that? Anyway, Zoro and Sanji used to be the absolute worst. They fought all the time and over the stupidest things. The collateral damage!" he dramatically mock cries and Chopper laughs. Even Nami has to stifle a laugh and quickly takes a sip of her drink.

"Luffy and Zoro are a lot more civil," Chopper agrees, "But occasionally…" and here his expression turns serious, almost solemn, "Occasionally there are times…"

"Yes, when they both argue…" Usopp continues conspiratorially, "When Luffy and Zoro really, _really _get mad…"

"What?" Nami, despite herself, leans in, intrigued.

"What are you guys talking about?" Luffy is suddenly there, crouching beside her close enough to feel the warmth radiating off him. Zoro also stands on Usopp and Chopper's side, drinking from his own flask.

"GAH!" she leaps back, her face reddening from being caught in the act and she winces when her hands catch her fall. She also knocks over her water bottle and soaks the grass with its contents, "Ah, shit… Luffy! Stop doing that!" she complains.

"Are you all right? Sorry 'bout that," Luffy shuffles over to her in his crouching position and lifts up her bottle, "Wow, it's all gone. Hey, I'll buy you another one at lunch, OK?"

"No, don't worry abou—" she starts to say automatically.

"A little warning'd be nice!" Usopp yells.

"Yeah, it'd be nice!" Chopper joins in.

"Well, I heard my name!" Luffy turns his head and yells, "It's not my fault if you can't hear!" He re-enters the fray and begins squabbling with Usopp and Chopper, which eventually turns to childish insults.

Nami sighs and looks mournfully at the empty bottle, feeling her parched throat flare up with a vengeance. She'd have to find a tap later or something. She wouldn't enter that cafeteria of a) limited space, b) close proximity with crowds of Pirates and c) food that cost money if she could help it. In the meantime, however…

"Can I have a sip?" she asks Zoro, dodging the tackle-fight ("Goddamn it, Luffy!" "Long-Nose!" "HEY!").

"There's a tap around that building," he says by way of answer.

"As if Mihawk would let me." She offers a hand.

"I won't poison it, promise." She cocks an eyebrow as if to say _how about it_?

She waits patiently while Zoro takes a long drink and when he lowers the bottle, he nearly glares at her, "Can't you take a hint?" he snaps.

Nami flinches back quicker than the slight tense of the muscle lining the boy's arm. Her sharp inhale… almost becomes a gasp. Those eyes. She sees him move forward and automatically stumbles back further accordingly, pulling herself out of range of his arm. _He wouldn't dare, not in public…!_

She'd had the same thought a few years ago too, with someone else. She had been wrong.

He is _fast_. Quickly, Nami figures out she can't escape and tenses, anticipating the hit.

She feels his hand close firmly, but not crushingly, on her shoulder, pulling her in slightly, righting her. Then he let her go.

He thought she was going to fall. She had been about to when she flinched away.

Zoro's expression falters at her reaction. Confusion and wariness fill his eye, "Oi… What are you…?"

His eye narrows but in a concentrated manner, as if in thought.

"I get it," she says quickly, "I shouldn't have pushed, my bad; but you don't have to be so snappy about it. I'll go. Make up an excuse for me if Mihawk asks." She strides purposefully to her water bottle and snatches it up, almost forgetting to get the lid as well, before speed-walking to the tap Zoro pointed out earlier.

At the tap, instead of filling up the bottle, Nami cups her hands and splashes her face with the water. The sharp iciness highlights her flushed face. She rakes a hand through her hair and sighs in frustration. She is acting so _stupid_, why is she messing up so many times and being so goddamned paranoid? _Pirates feed off weaknesses, Nami, and you're giving it to them! _At least she now knows where she stands with Zoro.

_He'd probably kill me if given the incentive, _she thinks wearily. She'd better get back in his good pages sooner rather than later. Before that, she'd have to get Tashigi to drop the whole thug investigation and Ain to get off Arlong's tail. Then she probably had to pick up extra shifts at work or find another job to create any excuse for avoiding Luffy's invitation… including today. In truth, Tashigi had excused her for today, instead urging her to get a medical examination (to no avail) and eventually to "just take it easy for now".

East Blue life is so complicated… but like everything else, Nami only has to deal with it and move on.

* * *

The lunch bell rings like a starting gun to a race. Nami bolts…

… And is stopped when Luffy gets to the door first (for Christ' sake, how does he move so _fast_?) as if by teleportation.

"Do you wanna have lunch with us?" he asks cheerily, "And I can buy that bottle of water for you."

"I already said it's fine," Nami replies, "Excuse me." She sidesteps around him and gets halfway out of the door into the stream of students.

"You like beef flavoured ramen too, that's awesome!" he calls.

She hesitates, and her bag knocks against her waist. The cylindrical shape of her thermos presses against the curve of her hip. Slowly, she twists her head around, keeping a very, very sceptical look on her face, "There's no way you can smell that."

"You had chicken noodle soup yesterday."

"Oh, my— Are you a stalker?" she whisper-hisses, taking him by the collar and dragging him to one side of the door (to a couple of whistles from some obnoxious idiot which made her hastily release him), "How the hell do you even know about that?"

"I can smell it."

"Really?" she says sarcastically.

"Yeah," he nods, completely serious, "Just with food though. It's kinda cool, like a superpower. If we go to the cafeteria, I'll tell you everything they're selling." His grin beckons her cheekily and an inquisitive look flashes in his eye, "Let's bet on it."

A bet? Nami cocks her head, the action rustling some of her orange hair resting on her right shoulder. She hitches the bag strap higher with one hand and replies, neutrally, "What stakes?"

"What do you want?"

_Leave me alone. _

"Money," she says, "Five bucks per food item you miss."

"Deal," he immediately grins, "But if I get them all, you have to come and meet my friends."

Briefly, Nami did wonder if it was worth betting increased association with more Pirates for a few money notes.

She thought of watching Nojiko, every night, dig out a calendar and cross off one more day, just one more day... to the day she turned eighteen and they drove far, far away from that foster home with the biggest grins on their faces, singing to songs they never heard.

Yes, yes, it was.

"Deal."


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six – Somewhere in the Grand Line Academy Cafeteria**

* * *

"Another victim, huh?" the lunch lady sighs and smiles tiredly at a twitching Nami. The smile emphasises the deep creases around her eyes and mouth and makes her brown eyes reduce themselves into rainbow arcs. She turns and calls, "Now, Luffy, you can't keep on doing this to your friends."

"I was right, wasn't I?" Luffy hops down from where he sits on a side bench and whips off the tea towel blindfold, "It was roast beef sandwiches, barbeque kebabs and red bean buns, right? Right?"

_I can't fucking believe this… _On the other side of the bench, near the doors to the kitchen, Nami slumps defeated against the wall and places her palms against the cool surface, as if the action will meld her into it. _Whyyyyyyyyyy..._

"He always does this, that Luffy," the lunch lady is saying, kneeling beside her, "Don't worry Miss, he's won heaps of bets by coming here every morning, like clockwork. He uses that weird power of his and guesses all our specials every morning then tells us to save his favourite for him." She sighs, "Such a special kid, that one. I hope I can count on you to take of him," she ends with another sympathetic smile and hands her a red bean bun, "Here."

"Thanks…"

As if a red bean bun's going to help her now. Her soul is sold to a Pirate bloodhound waving around a bright pink tea towel. Still, she picks apart the outside and nibbles towards the centre sulkily even as she hears him ambling towards her.

"Here," Luffy's voice laughs behind her and the bottom of something cool and firm pokes the back of her head. Nami reaches up and her mouth lifts ever so slightly at the distinctive feel of a plastic water bottle.

"Thanks." She holds the bun with her mouth and stands up before taking a bite out of it, debating her choice of words with each chew. _I will, I won't, I will, I won't, I will… _She swallows.

"I won't back out or anything. When do I meet your friends?"

"Today?"

A cold trail of ice freezes her spine. _Too soon. _She presses the cold bottle further into the underside of her bare arm (the blazer was forgone after PE), but aware that if he peers closely enough, he could still see the watery and diluted bruise through the clear disguise.

_(What was my excuse for my arm bruise? Door jamb? Or—?")_

"No," she utters, falters, stumbles and pushes herself back up, "Not today. I'm helping out my sister with some casual work."

That strange look again. This time he is quiet but he still accepts her words easily as he turns and walks away. She wonders why she feels so unnerved. Maybe he didn't smile. She forgot to look.

Encased in the crook of her arm, the cold bottle is a strange contrast to her warm thermos against the other side of her arm. She follows Luffy as they make their way through the cafeteria. Much like the corridors, the students are within their groups but still all move, sometimes unanimously, to acknowledge Luffy in some manner. The subject himself doesn't appear to notice, though he does call out at a few individuals cheerily with a grin and wave. Half of those individuals glare at him, not that he seems to really notice. He comments absent-mindedly without any sort of tact.

"That's the swamp-guy," he says, pointing towards an intimidating character lounged in his seat, "His brother's Shovel. He's kinda funny, Swamp-Guy. I think he had really long arms but had to cut them off."

Nami only blinks her question.

"Well, that's the only reason he could have shirtsleeves that long, right?"

"Unless his arms are just really short and he's overcompensating for it," Nami replies.

"What the heck?" Luffy laughs and reaches out to pinch the bottom half of her bean bun, "Hey, let's go halves."

"No way, you have to win the lunch lady's sympathy yourself," she grins, wanting to keep that unsuspecting smile there on his face, and pulls it out of his grasp.

"Come on!"

"No way~" she sings mockingly, extending her long arms well out of his reach while he complains.

"Usopp, grab it for me!" Luffy suddenly yells and Nami whirls to face Usopp having just entered the cafeteria. The boy watches with a face of amusement but deadpans at his request.

"Nope."

"Usopp!" Luffy stretches the word into two long syllables, "What's the point of a crewmate who doesn't have his captain's back?"

"For getting a red bean bun? Get your own, cheapskate! Good grief," at the last words, Usopp removes a thick textbook from his backpack, "Thanks to you, I'm late for lunch too. Come on, let's go and we can look at this."

"Go where?" Nami asks at the same time as Luffy says, "Let's just look at it here."

"Rooftop," Usopp replies to Nami. To Luffy he yells, "As if I'll fall for that again after you 'accidentally' dropped this in the bin! What do you take me for?" He half-turns towards the doors again and waves the book to and fro like a beckoning signal.

Without much choice, Nami tags along nibbling on her bun, briefly, briefly wondering if Ace got bored again today; while Usopp rants on about Luffy's 'accidents' of destroying the textbook he holds tightly under his arm as if afraid another 'accident' will occur. Luffy denies each claim, sticking his lips out to the side in a pouting manner like a child who's a terrible liar. They leave the cafeteria and cut across the courtyard to the side of a building with ivy slithering over it like snakes. Nami guesses it's some sort of greenhouse within by the views of the large windows.

Along the backside of the building is a shadowed enclosure; as if a square was carefully removed from the structure, with thick moss growing out of small crevices. Climbing up the side of the enclosure is an iron ladder, clamping firmly onto the roof. It is around five metres off the ground, probably to discourage delinquents climbing it.

"Don't lag, Luffy," Usopp says as he grasps a protruding stone off to the side and lifts himself up, pushing off with his other foot forcefully and grabbing the first rung of the ladder. He effortlessly scales the structure and disappears onto the roof.

Next, Luffy ascends it without pause, only turning around to beckon her with another challenge, "Come on. You'll really love the top." He hangs off the sixth rung with one hand and leans back with the other outstretched, eyes making contact with hers, "Can you push yourself off?"

Without much thought, and many seconds of hesitation, Nami chews her bun until it loses all trace of flavour. She wonders why the boy still doesn't lose faith in her, waiting patiently as if his muscles must not be screaming at him to pull himself back from gravity's force.

Finally, she finds herself grasping the same stone and pushing off the same foothold as the two Pirates before her; and she softly, softly takes his hand, barely folding his fingers. His firm strength in comparison almost breaks her.

Yet she feels safe when he easily hoists her up so she balances on the bottom rungs, her other hand clutching the next one. Automatically she leans inwards and exhales, her entire body throbbing with the day-old bruises. There is a burning sensation on her arm too, likely a scrape from that abrupt stunt. _Son of a bitch._

"Are you OK?" Luffy asks as he releases her hand, peering down at her, "It's not as hard after a while."

"Yeah, fine," she lies.

* * *

Something that could be said for these Pirates: they found the best spots to eat lunch.

At the top of the ladder, there is a fairly narrow strip of glossy steel running the entire length of the greenhouse, right in the centre as if uniting the two halves of the roof, up until it connects with the neighbouring stone building. A large opening cut out of the neighbouring building, shaded with overhanging roofs, is like, or a pathway to, an exclusive hideout. If one were to look from the courtyard, they would never be the wiser.

Nami pokes her head above the roof just in time to see Usopp's form hop off the steel strip into the safety of the neighbouring building's hollow opening with a grunt mixed with laughter. He looks back and crows, "You're getting slow, Luffy!"

"Am not!" Luffy retorts, sticking his tongue out from where he stands on the beginning of the strip. He easily balances on it and runs a few paces forward as if on the ground; that straw hat on its string bobbing behind him, "Meet you on the other side, Nami! Look at the sides if you can!"

_What the actual fuck is happening? _Nami thinks to herself, lifting herself off the ladder and tentatively balancing on the steel path. _I am actually doing this… OK…_

In her mind, she imagines running across this strip as effortlessly as Luffy had done; maybe like something out of an action movie.

(To her credit, she would reason later, Luffy didn't have to do this wearing heeled boots.)

The first few seconds are fine. Until Nami realises she has inched only about a ruler's length from the start and feels the slight pull of falling, does she start sprinting, screaming the traditional way mixed with curses. The steel frame beneath her resonates loudly with each step in a hollow, metallic ring.

Near the end, she feels someone grab her arm and pull her in the rest of the way. She stumbles with relief onto solid ground and breathes shallow, panting breaths in the shade of the little hideout.

"Well that was entertaining," remarks a voice wryly, muffling the sound of laughter. Nami feels like hugging and punching the source when she can get her breath back from the spike of adrenaline. Finally, he can't hold it anymore and Ace laughs loudly within the small space, doubled over clutching his stomach and shaking with the guffaws. Every time he tries to speak again, he descends back into laughter, his whole face contorted in an expression of undisguised glee; until Nami herself can't even hold herself back and she bursts out laughing from where she has pushed herself against the wall. She welcomes the cool, solid stone beneath her as her body shakes with the explosive laughter.

For a while, the two; a brother of a Pirate and the bluffer stand and sit respectively in the shadowed space, laughing unattractively and hearing their echoes laugh at them. The latter has her arms drawn around herself, her palm resting gently on the spot on her arm where it feels warmer.

"What the hell was that?" Ace finally gets out between laughs.

It feels warm. Warmth feels weird; like danger in its early stages, but, just right, it feels nice, too.

"What the hell was that?" Nami agrees, grinning at him from the ground, never moving her hand.

* * *

"And then she went like this!" Luffy yells, standing and flapping his arms at his sides like an agitated chicken.

"More like this," Ace joins in and runs in a drunken line with flapping chicken's wings, "It's incredible you didn't tumble off!"

"Shut up!" Nami yells from her place sitting on the stone slab making up a side of a planter. Her legs are still trembling just watching the two brothers.

_Who knew rooftop gardens existed up here…_

Feeling the need to make her case, she adds, "I'd like to see you run across in heeled boots!" to which Luffy only laughs, collapsing onto the ground in his hysterics.

"We could hear your screams all the way from here," Usopp remarks, "I wonder if they heard it in the cafeteria…?"

"Well, if they did, this school seems very concerned of their students' wellbeing," Nami replies sarcastically. As far as she knew, there was flat silence that followed her dash and subsequent screams. No teacher or student ran out to see what the commotion was; Nami could be lying dead for all anyone at this bloody school would know, which reminds her… She twists her arm and frowns at the light scrape there. Mostly it's just the top layer of skin cleaved off but there are spots of blood as well, probably pumped through by the race of her heartbeat.

_Geez… _It could have been worse, she supposes. She would like to see Nojiko's face if she tore the sleeve of that expensive blazer. Automatically, she moves to wipe off the excess blood with her fingers.

A firm hand takes hers, "Don't do that. You don't want to infect it. Let me take a look."

It is the steadiest she has ever heard Chopper talk. That alone surprises her enough to obey his next orders without question. She gives him her arm and watches, intrigued, as he extracts a first-aid kit from his bag and proceeds to quickly patch her up without another word. His hands are quick and precise; never faltering once as he deftly cleans and covers the wound.

"Lucky it's not that bad," Chopper comments, "If you needed stitches, I couldn't do much. They don't let me bring stuff like that to school."

"You… really know what you're doing," Nami retracts her arm and observes the boy's impeccable handiwork, "Do you carry that around with you all the time?"

"Yeah. I live with a doctor, Dr. Kureha, and aspire to become one myself." He quietly packs away his tools and turns slightly to look at the other boys behind him, "Plus they're always getting injured so I have to patch them up. The school nurse would get kind of overwhelmed if she had to help all of them."

Nami raises her eyebrow but her next sentence is interrupted by a loud moan from Luffy, "Usopp, not today! It's such good weather too! Let's play a game!"

"Sit down!" Usopp retorts and Nami turns her head to watch the boy sit himself firmly on the ground with the textbook from before open on his lap. From her higher vantage point, Nami can see the distinct lines of graphs and number planes.

"I swear Luffy, I am barely keeping you from going under in Maths so be thankful! Buggy's getting on my case too about your scores."

"Why to you?" Nami asks.

Usopp shrugs, "Who knows. I think Buggy just purposefully avoids Luffy, and his family, if he can help it— Luffy! Don't run away!"

"Let's do it tomorrow!"

"No!" Usopp yells and chucks a pen at the boy who perches on the small rooftop hanging over the balcony. He deftly avoids it and catches it in the same motion.

"Prepare yourself, Usopp!" Luffy crows as he holds the pen like a dart.

"Stop messing around! You actually have to learn this stuff if you want to pass! Zoro, you too! Wake up!"

"Luffy, learn your Maths!" Ace calls from his spot on an identical seat to Nami, "Stop being a pain to your friends."

"Shouldn't you be somewhere else?" Luffy pouts, "Truant."

"Hey!" Ace sits up abruptly in a rigid posture, but he is grinning, "Do you want to go, you punk?"

"Come on, then!" Luffy crows.

"Ace!" complains Usopp.

Chopper patters off and pokes Zoro awake, diligently attempting to wake the larger boy when he simply rolls over.

"Zoro, we have to learn linear functions, come on."

"Mhm," the boy mumbles. He would sleep like a corpse if he weren't flushed with colour from the sun.

Nami feels slightly out of place in the chaos around her. As she sits and observes from her planter seat, she could have quite easily inserted herself in any situation. She could have attempted to separate the grappling brothers, she could have attempted to wake the sleeping boy, or talk to the student with the textbook. But… she couldn't.

On her arm, the red pinpricks of blood seep through the white. She could patch it up, or Chopper could, if she asked; but her heart will keep thumping and the blood will keep flowing, no matter what she could do.

* * *

In the back room, Nojiko speaks to Nami for the first time the entire night, apart from brief comments like, "Latte and tiramisu for Table 6" and "Nami, could you take the couple over there?" Nami is slipping the school blazer over her shoulders when Nojiko says, "Thank you." The other workers had all already left and the room felt starkly empty, lit only by the bright fluorescent lights.

Nami knows Nojiko could see the bruises when she changed out of the standard uniform. She knows Nojiko doesn't mean helping out with casual work and earning extra money.

Nami turns around and looks at her but she's already turned and pulled the button-up shirt from her shoulders. The smooth, unmarred, unhurt skin between the curves of her shoulder blades greets her. _She's not sorry. _

_But how can I blame her?_

"Yeah – fine," Nami meant to say 'it's fine' but her throat caught halfway and betrayed her.

That is the second time she's used the lie today.

* * *

She would need to use the lie a third time. Perhaps a fourth, fifth, countless times…

… Without even counting the times prior to her move to the East Blue district she's had to tell that lie.

* * *

Over the years, Nami noticed Nojiko's passionate dislike for the EDM remixes the radio stations tend to play late at night until she eventually refused to even leave the volume up at night in case of one. Sometimes Nami would reach over and crank up the volume quickly when Nojiko isn't paying attention just to annoy her with the repetitive beats, like tonight.

"Stop it!" Nojiko jokingly yells, slapping away Nami's hand from the volume dial, "No! If I have to hear that stupid song one more time…"

"Keep your eyes on the road!" Nami laughs, reaching for the glowing dial, "Nojiko! They're probably not even playing it."

"Hey, stop! Your boss is gonna come out and arrest me for reckless driving! And besides, that song was still in the top something-or-other when I was driving to work this morning and I'm not taking that chance!"

"Twenty dollars if I'm wrong?"

"I'm not betting you on this!"

"Fine, ten!"

"Nami!"

The laughter feels trapped within the small confines of the car, but until they pulled up outside the equally small apartment, it felt like enough.

* * *

"All right, straight to bed," Nojiko says when she unlocks and pushes open the door, "It's late. You're not hungry or anything?"

Nami shakes her head, "I ate at the café." As she does so, her eyes spy the stack of neat envelopes and paper on the bench, "Is that our mail?"

"I asked the landlady to put it in here for us when she could," Nojiko says, "Otherwise some idiot might come and steal it while we're both out." She crosses the small space and picks up the stack, "Can you take care of the bank stuff when you're free? Just give it to me if I need to sign something." As Nojiko scans the logos at the corner of each envelope, she quickly picks out all the bank-related ones, "I swear they send us more and more…"

"Sure," Nami quickly takes the stack, sealing the clear plastic displaying the addressee's details under her hand. Half would be addressed for their joint account. The other half would be just for hers. She steps back as Nojiko scans the rest of the mail, "I'll just go to bed and take care of it in the morning."

"Night," Nojiko murmurs. She has reached a point in her stack and is reading the top article intently.

"Coupons?" Nami guesses sarcastically as she walks out of the room.

"Don't knock my coupons!" Nojiko retorts, but Nami misses the slight pause just preceding it and the slight curve of her sister's wrist to lower the envelope out of her sight.

* * *

That night, if a stray wanderer were to stand on the corner of the street and tilt his head up, he would see the two squares of light on either side of the apartment – one bright and one dim. For a long time, neither would go out. The wanderer might wonder what could keep two people up so late and he would come to the only conclusion – worry and anxiety, though he could not possibly guess why. Not yet anyway.

On the threshold of morning, the dimmer light would die.

It would take much longer for the brighter one to go out.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven – Somewhere in an East Blue District Apartment**

* * *

_The most terrifying people in the world were the ones in suits. They were faceless men and similar men; there were too many to count, to remember, to register. It didn't matter; all she had to do was say what they needed to hear, what she needed them to hear. If she misspoke one word, she would suffer, no, they would both suffer. She inhales deeply and when she exhales, she consciously sits up a little straighter, makes her gaze a little cooler and lifts her face a little higher; and in those little movements, it seems like everything will be all right. _

_(Why is the office so, so cold?)_

_A silver pen dances across a pad, a signature potentially repairs her life or destroys it and the ink bleeds into the white paper permanently but still it does not reassure her. The relief should be overwhelming, but only anxiety remains to plague her mind with thoughts she refused to acknowledge before. _

_How can I do this? How will I be able to do this? What will happen if I __**can't **__do this?_

_Opposite her, the man says something she can't hear and she replies something she doesn't remember, but it's right. She knows because the man smiles. He does not threaten her. He extends a hand, meeting her halfway across the pristine polished desk in an offer that both makes her ecstatic and absolutely petrified and nauseous._

_Only her sister's face spurs her forward beyond the shadows of reasonable doubt. She shakes his hand with her hastily-wiped-dry one and the deal is sealed, for a part of forever._

* * *

It feels almost normal now. Nami wakes up and does not hit her head. She does not move to slide off the wrong side of the bed or hit her limbs against the wall in the process. She does not even blink at that green wall and think about how she would have hated its original colour. At the end of the first week, it feels… normal.

For how long this will last is anyone's guess before they uproot themselves… again.

Nami rolls lazily to the side of the bed, lies with her limbs splayed out in awkward, twisted positions half-over the edge of her mattress and allows a few, peaceful moments to pass, to summon some sort of strength to sustain another strenuous day. Then she gets up.

"I woke up almost every day on time and didn't tear my uniform at all. I didn't die at Pirate Academy. I can even sort of make it across the greenhouse if I crawl along the last couple of metres. Zoro and I are back on 'giving nods of acknowledgement', I've been doing OK at work, I mixed my ramen seasonings and confused Luffy and I was really satisfied until I realised I made my ramen taste like crap." She finishes dressing and pulls her hair into a high ponytail as she grins at the photo frame, mimicking the trademark grin of the woman within, standing proudly on her desk, "Are you proud of me?"

Neither grin changes and the younger girl's grows wider in response, "Thought so." She pulls once on her ponytail to tighten it and sobers up as she turns, "I'm leaving now. I love you."

Nojiko is stirring her coffee when Nami emerges and enters the kitchen, going straight for the fridge. The latter also raises an eyebrow at several open packets of instant coffee littering the kitchen bench-top.

"I may have a problem," Nojiko replies, tapping off her spoon and hurriedly sweeping all of them into the bin. She downs a quarter of the cup and looks with sudden distaste at the rest, "I didn't sleep well. Want some?"

At Nami's shake of the head, she shrugs and gulps down the rest, slamming the mug down on the bench with a slight wince, "Sorry. I…" she pushes hair off her forehead and leaves her fingers dug in the strands for a second before dropping them.

Nami asks, "What's wrong?" at the same time Nojiko says, "I don't know what's wrong with me, it must be one of those days.

"I'm going to work." She turns sharply and snatches up the keys with a metallic jingle, "I'm taking the car for the day, OK?"

"Sure," Nami shrugs, "I'm not going anywhere." She turns away from the frighteningly bare fridge and glimpses her sister curse as she hops around to put on her shoes and shove the door open at the same time, "Now I'm kinda concerned you're going to crash the car though."

"Ha. See you." Nojiko stamps down triumphantly with her shoe and wrangles the door open. Outside, the cheery sunlight seems blinding compared to the dim kitchen.

"Bye?" Nami replies and the closing door is her only answer. Quickly, she crosses the small main room of the apartment and yanks open the curtains, allowing light to filter inside. She waits until she sees Nojiko's car come into view and disappear before she allows herself a small reprieve and rubs her eyes. How long did she stay up last night? It was definitely already morning when she went to sleep… But whenever the daily statements arrived in the mail, Nami committed herself to meticulously comb over every small detail, transaction and deposit as soon as possible. She had to make sure every figure was accurate, and so far, every one was. She would plan the family budget and put aside some cash for rent and food… and Arlong. She would calculate the approximate paycheques for the coming couple of weeks and make sure her budget supported that and generally set each amount of cash for each necessity. Nojiko could be perfectly adept at managing their money; it just turned out Nami was exceptional and so adopted the role of bookkeeper since she was thirteen and started organising her allowance and Nojiko's pay from her part-time jobs. It had never been any different since. Although at first she had been reluctant, Nojiko eventually placed complete trust in Nami's ability with numbers and organisation and stopped checking up on the subject altogether.

It made it very easy to open another account, and another, and for Nami to earn money through her other talent. Not that she had a chance to use it during the move and settling in. But soon…

_I have to, _Nami leans over the kitchen bench with bank statements spread out before her and a separate piece of paper covered in sums and numbers. Most of the lines were crossed out.

_I have to make up the difference. There's no other way. Arlong… _A week had already passed, just like that. Her new deadline is approaching fast and she has been missing in action for a few days at work, significantly reducing her pay.

Nami presses the end of the pen against her lip, trying to will a solution to form out of her haphazardly written sums, but there is nothing that comes in existence. The numbers make her head spin and she lays her head tiredly on top of her arms, resigning herself to another late night.

She would have to use her talent to drag them over the line once more.

* * *

The first step is to check the second account in her possession. The one apart from the joint account and her separate one, and whose paperwork couldn't be sent to her, directly. It would look too suspicious. As if explaining two accounts' worth of bank statements were not stressful enough, either. The third account is Nami's nest egg and hers alone. Nojiko would never find out.

_Chu Kisu. 42 Tiger Drive. Apartment 4B. _

The details from the piece of paper courtesy of Arlong and burned courtesy of Cigarette Ash's lighter are seared in Nami's brain. She repeats them mentally as she leaves home, walks the street, boards the subway and departs at F District. When she emerges into the urban streets, her instinct takes over and she files the information away into her mind, hoping she repeated it enough to remember.

Immediately, thoughts she had been keeping out throughout the journey of crowded subway stations and subway cars flood into her mind. _F District. Pirates everywhere. Why is the place deserted? Am I about to be caught in crossfire? Pirates, Pirates, Pirates. Thugs. Horror movies. Why didn't you steal a gun last time? Could damn well use it now! Keep moving, don't stop, don't make eye contact, don't challenge anyone and don't look up. _

She thinks of how Luffy walks through that crowd: never caring, never bothered, never taken off guard and never being thrown off course or pushed back by the crowd's motion. He moves through the crowd effortlessly, unconsciously, without a care in the damn world as the current parts for him. How it must feel to be able to do that.

When Nami does look up, she keeps walking. Carefully scanning the areas above the shady characters that had begun wandering the streets, she tries to make out any sort of sign or hint to her location. The breeze is cold; she should have brought a jacket and the leering gazes do little to soothe her relief of finally escaping what had appeared to be a ghost town. Immediately, she wants to be alone again, away from the attention and gazes of everyone else, even though when she was alone, there was nothing she wanted more than to return to the safe crowds of people.

Most of the wanderers watch her, warily, knowing a foreign, new girl like her can only be here for the equally foreign, new gang on the streets. Nami had not been in the area so long as to learn of the gang hierarchy here, but she estimated Arlong would slot easily into the status of one who was not to be fucked around with. With each street cleared and no attempts on her life, the thesis only grew stronger.

At last, she reaches Apartment 4B on Tiger Drive, rented under the name of Chu Kisu. Arlong agreed to rent out a failsafe apartment in each new place they moved to. It made for good scapegoating on fake identities, alibis and other things to scrape the members from easy convictions. It was Nami's idea and Arlong had conditions, of course, though the initiative held benefits for him, in that Nami's daily quota of payment money to the Pirate was increased to fund most of the rent. The apartment sat unused and unchecked in each new spot, until it was needed, for the time the Arlong Pirates and the sisters stayed there and abandoned when both parties inevitably moved.

Arlong thought he had the only key. Luckily, Nami didn't need a key.

When she jimmies the lock, Nami finds herself in the cheapest shithole of an apartment she would ever stumble across. In what appears to be a former drug den and possible meth lab with no effort whatsoever to hide the fact, she wonders how the proprietor could ever expect someone to actually pay money to use, or even bother to advertise, it. She suspects a strict 'don't-ask-don't-tell' policy in this district and is secretly grateful for the fact.

By comparison, the white and pristine envelopes dumped on the haggard couch almost illuminate the dark space. Nami walks over, perches precariously on the old cushion and proceeds to peruse through another set of bank statements, another of several secrets she had yet to mention to another person. Extracting the folded paper of sums and a pen, she sets about calculating just how much money she has to endure another late night for.

* * *

It is around the corner of one dilapidated building, on the way back to the subway, that Nami intuitively senses something is not right. With a sharp turn on her heel, she twists herself around, expecting someone's outstretched hand, with her breath trapped in her throat.

The street in front of her is deserted. She _had _purposefully chosen to leave the building in a more unorthodox way and circle back around through back alleys and narrow strips between imposing structures. The last thing she needs is someone knowing of her private (drug den) hideout and deciding to break in. Unfortunately, that means avoiding crowded areas for secluded, potentially dangerous routes.

_There's no one, _Nami has to twist slowly, paranoid of any sudden movements or noises. Then, convincing herself not to lose her nerve, she calmly continues walking until she reaches the subway station once more and leaves.

* * *

_There was someone behind me._

Nami cannot push the thought out of her mind the entire long trip through several stops back to East Blue. She stands with her hand lightly curled around a handle dangling from the car's roof and gazes out the window at the city's skyline speeding past. It is better than looking around at the other passengers, who, as far as she can see, are all businessmen and women and the occasional family with boisterous young children; but perhaps the presence followed her through the streets and even onto the subway. There is no way to know for sure.

She's scared. She finds comfort in logic.

_There's no way I'm about to be attacked on the subway. No way. Right?_

A slight tremble rocks the subway and Nami automatically clenches her hand around the handle only to discover she'd already been subconsciously doing so long before, and consciously loosens her grip.

_Relax. It'll be fine. It's OK._

She counts the number of times the doors hiss open and close again, the number of messages warning passengers to 'mind the gap' and counts the number of stops left to go, keeping her eyes firmly trained now on the subway map with the blinking circles to indicate the stops. Only a few more… then she could power-walk the hell out of there and back home… after the grocery shopping.

"So you haven't dropped off the face of the Earth. I'm glad," says Ain as her slender form moves to occupy the space beside her, her arm outstretched to grasp the next handle, "Are you all right?" She doesn't move forward to catch Nami though when she jerks back.

"Stop doing that!" Nami yelps, "Geez!" She breathes to settle her heart and feels the other passengers looking at her weirdly, "What are you doing here?"

Ain cocks her head, "I investigated a potential lead but it was a dead-end so I'm returning to the station. Also, smoking in the subway is an unspoken taboo and I had to investigate with Cigarette Ash."

"Do you just always ditch your co-workers?"

"Mostly. We don't exactly get along as a general rule. Besides, we can all take care of ourselves." Ain turns to face her fully, "What are you doing here? A little far from home for one who recently moved here, correct?"

"Touché. I didn't mean to criticise, or ask about anything that doesn't concern me." Nami pauses, "I was in F District."

"Where you were attacked.

"Why?"

The blinking red dot winks at Nami from the panels above. Her stop is nearing. She could get off soon.

"Who knows," she replies, so quietly that she doubts the officer at her side could even hear her over the rumble of the subway ricocheting outside against the tunnels and inside the small car. In the temporary dimness, Nami tightens her grip on the handle and closes her eyes, plunging her sight into complete blackness. She feels a strange compulsion to say something more, that somehow she left something unsaid, similar to her arguments with Nojiko, but she fights it. Ain does not reply.

When Nami opens her eyes, the bright station is there and she leaves without any resistance.

* * *

_Goddamn Ain-chan._

On a dense street in East Blue District, a police officer barely escapes storming through the crowd, two cigarettes dangling from his hand.

On the same street, a girl with bright orange hair stands outside a large boutique. Her elbow is cradled against her palm and her fingers form a pedestal for her chin to rest upon while in thought. Her eyes examine an outfit displayed on one of the mannequins inside – blue jeans with gold hoops on the side and a green-striped bikini top partly covered with an open long-sleeved shirt: '_Pirate Chic – the new trend for summer!_' as one placard claims. It is a new boutique, the girl discerns, one that may have recently been erected within the former building and with an added second floor. It is quick to jump onto new trends compared to other, older boutiques with an established, consistent style.

The girl moves on, her eyes quickly scanning over the outfit, the windows, the door, the layout of the boutique and more as befitting a seasoned thief; with a pleasant smile on her otherwise impassive face.

Neither figure take any notice of the other and they each go about their normal day.

* * *

_There are so few opportunities I get to drive the car, _Nami thinks that night as she rolls the vehicle out onto the road, headlights off for the moment, and, once she gets far enough away as not to alert Nojiko, tentatively pulls her door shut. The resounding 'thump' echoes in the night and Nami hunches low in her seat for a moment, paranoid of seeing the apartment curtains being drawn back and Nojiko's face catch her in the act. But there is nothing and Nami lets out a held breath as she drives into town.

It is significantly harder to rob a place in a city, but easier, too. A city never sleeps, but it cannot look everywhere at once either. On the strip of boutiques and coffee shops without any bars or clubs in sight, it is quiet and dark. Nami kills the engine a few shops down from the target boutique outside a modest café without the funds to buy CCTV, effectively placing herself in the blind spot of several security cameras outside other establishments. From there, it is a matter of circling around the backs of buildings, avoiding the sneaky cameras that were installed around other entrances to the store and finding a vulnerable spot to attack.

The opportunity presents itself in the form of an unsupervised back door.

_There. _

The door is jimmied and Nami slips through without the alarms blaring. It is a new door, she suspects, built for easier passage to ship new stocks into the storeroom within instead of through the front entrance and a necessity that a popular new boutique would require, unlike whatever establishment preceded it. The downside being that no security measures have been installed around the door yet, but a delay that proves invaluable to a thief.

The darkness of the boutique does little to deter the thief. She walks with confidence, with a calm surety in her movements and without fear or hesitance. When she rolls out the cash register tray, the thief calmly gathers the notes, dropping the holders back down in place quietly. Then she slides the tray back into place and moves out from the counter with her loot. Checking for any discreet security measures despite knowing she'd find none, the thief glides across the marble tiles…

… And stops when she sees the same outfit she had been observing that afternoon reflected in a mirror above a rack of accessories.

_That is a damn good outfit_, the thief laments and, against her better judgement, compels the girl to quickly detour from her plan.

Just this once.

* * *

The next day, Monkey D. Luffy, fellow classmate and Pirate gang leader, would show up at her door ("How did you even know where I live?" "I—" "Actually don't answer, I don't even want to know" "*trademark grin*") and tell her about his brother's killer hangover, Makino's subsequent exasperation and joy in aforementioned hangover as she got to blend more experimental 'hangover cures' and aforementioned brother wanting to kill himself as a result but having neither the strength nor heart to say so aloud. Then, after all that, "So I came here."

"Why here?"

"'Cause you listen to my stories and say funny stuff." His expression turned conspiratorial next, "Plus, Grandpa's looking for me and he doesn't know where you live unlike my other crew."

"Shouldn't you be spending some quality time with your grandfather?" Nami says. But she does move from the doorframe and gestures for him to come inside which he does gleefully. She wonders if she should offer him something to eat or drink. _How long has it been… since I've had someone..._

"Nah," Luffy says as he bounds inside, "Grandpa normally only looks for us if he's bored or needs something. Ace is hung over though so he has to look for me."

Nami, having decided Luffy seems interchangeably thirsty and hungry, if not both, goes into the kitchen and searches for a couple of cups to make coffee and wonders if she remembered to buy the cookies last grocery trip, "And what exactly does your grandfather need from you?" _Do we seriously only have two cups? Ah, here's one… Now, cookies…_

"Help him find a thief."

Nami stops cold internally. Externally, she never hesitates as she retrieves the food and pours the coffee, "A thief?" She has to look down to check herself and exhale in silent relief when she sees herself wearing dark jeans and a slogan crop top instead of the outfit she stole. When she looks out of the door at Luffy sitting cross-legged on one of the chairs around the table in his jean shorts and hoodie (with the straw hat still atop his head), he frowns in thought, seemingly trying to remember something.

"Yeah. Last night, some shop got robbed but Grandpa says he has better things to worry about so he needs me. Hey, is that food? Thanks, Nami!"

For a while neither speaks until a whole cookie packet later when Nami decides Luffy looks content enough to ask, "Are you going to help him?" The only cookie she took sits half eaten on the table in front of her while Luffy devours a packet of chips she had to dig out afterwards.

"With the thief?" Luffy lifts the bag and shakes the crumbs out into his mouth and shrugs, chewing, "It's kinda boring, especially by myself. Gramps doesn't really like my crew and he never lets me take them along…" Suddenly, the boy perks up, "Hey, do you wanna come along and help?"

Nami almost spits out her coffee, "What?"

"Yeah!" Luffy's whole face lights up, "If you're not doing anything let's go and catch a thief. Then we can go to Sanji's after and you can meet my crew over lunch!"

The boy's eyes glimmer with a familiar excitement and a challenge lay in the confident, charismatic gaze, so much like how Nami's own bluffed ones look, "Deal?"


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight – Somewhere in an East Blue District Apartment (with a Pirate)**

* * *

Nami has always been a left-brain thinker – logic, cold hard facts and realism has always been her forte. Aside from the occasional occurrences where her heart feels entitled to butt in, Nami's strict and structured way of thinking has long been the guide for her thoughts and actions. In being a woman of logic, Nami has always automatically deduced the consequences of her actions, weighed them up against each other and opts for the most reasonable and beneficial route. In theory, an absolute, faultless system; until a virus called 'UNPREDICTABILITY' infects it, subsequently causes all stations to undergo an inevitable shut down and renders the operator's output to be nothing more than complete, utter silence.

Nami had never placed a face to the 'UNPREDICTABILITY' virus until she met Monkey D. Luffy.

_Sustenance. Food. Clear-thinking. Need food._ The silence is finally broken when Nami's fingers collide with the surface of her kitchen table. Blinking, she looks down at the empty space in front of her with only a few crumbs to even suggest a cookie had once been there. Opposite her, Luffy tries and fails to subtly chew his chocolate-covered prize.

"… Did you just steal my only cookie?"

"Waiting makes me hungry," Luffy says around the mouthful of cookie.

"You ate the whole packet, damn you! AND the chips!"

"Don't worry, Sanji'll have lots of food!" Luffy laughs, brushing off her complaint, "Especially when he hears we're bringing you! He'll probably even make dessert! Ah, after getting Gramps off our back, though."

"I never said yes," Nami points out, frowning, mildly annoyed with his consistent habit of assuming her responses for her and ignoring her apparent lack of enthusiasm for the idea.

"Well, come on! It'll be fun," Luffy pleads, leaning forward to wrap his arms around the back of the chair as he bounces up onto his knees, "Promise."

_Promise? _The memory hits her unawares and Nami's head spins, both trying to contain and rid of the memory that stabs every other thought in her mind like a parasite until it remains there without any chance of ignoring it. It comes in flashes, with each portion followed by an attempt to fend off the next.

"_I promise." (Think of something else!)_

_Her voice whispers— (Anything!)_

_The sincerity dripping from each syllable— (Something!)_

_To stain the floor in red. (I can't remember…)_

_Drip, drip, drop… (I was so scared—)_

"I don't want to." The words escape Nami so quietly and lowly, the blinking boy opposite her leans forward with an "Hm?"

"I said I don't want to," Nami lifts her eyes and snaps, so coldly, she immediately becomes conscious of what she is doing. She doesn't stop. _He's a Pirate, he can take it, _and the thought nastily culminates in her brain and remains there, fuelling her momentum and anger, feeding other similar thoughts. _He's a Pirate, as if Pirates can say shit about promises (if a police officer can't—) I never wanted to become _this _involved with him so why does he keep _coming back_?_

"Go by yourself. I'm not interested." She stands up hastily, the chair screeching loudly against the floor, and collects the cups, dumping them in the sink for later. Her head is ducked the whole time, her jaw clenched unconsciously. When she emerges, the boy still sits there, unbelievably, seeming to have not moved at all.

"What?" she says, letting acid drip from her tone, "If you have nothing else to say then—"

"What?" the Pirate retorts. For the first time, Nami sees his expression darken, his eyes narrow and his eyebrows bend into an angry (no, frustrated) glare, "What is it _now_?"

If the last word had been left out, the exchange might have ended then and there had Nami stormed out, her tendency to keep her secrets and pride intact taking precedence over arguing. With its inclusion, Nami feels obliged to argue back, fiercely, with the goal of winning and inflicting damage.

"What is it _now_?" Nami repeats lowly, her voice reverberating against the walls ominously before rising in volume, "What is it _now, Luffy? _How about what's your damn problem with not being able to accept the word 'NO' or the fact that someone is clearly uncomfortable? That's my problem _now_."

"I just don't understand you at all!" Luffy argues, loudly, "What the hell is your problem?"

"I _JUST SAID_—"

"Not that problem! The problem where you are acting so _weird_! It's confusing! One minute, you seem like a good and funny person and then _something _happens and you change and want everyone to go away and I _don't understand why_!" he takes a breath, during which Nami can't think of a single substantial thing to say, "_You _introduced yourself to us—"

"After _you _couldn't just leave me be—"

"AND _you _agreed to the bet—"

"_THAT _you _knew _you were going to win from the start—"

"How do you know about that?" Luffy's face suddenly turns flabbergasted, his eyes bulging and his tone incredulous as if he'd just been caught out in a crime.

"THE LUNCH LADY TOLD ME!" Nami yells anyway, hearing the ridiculous statement bounce and echo in her home and not entirely knowing why.

"You _said _you weren't going to back down! If you didn't want to meet us, you could have said something_ then_ instead of promising something like that!"

_Promise, promise, promise, Nami, Nojiko…_

Opposite her, the boy who had stood up sometime during the argument shook like Nami had never seen him before. She could see his entire frame lift and fall with each breath, the same glaring expression on his face never relented then nor now and never drops her gaze. The time for any apologies, retorts or _anything _comes and goes, quietly, for Nami never says another word. She herself, never shakes once during the argument, never pants once or breathes any faster or slower, unlike the boy opposite her, who looks increasingly exhausted. It reminds her of the run on the oval or after crossing the greenhouse for the first time when their roles had been reversed; when Luffy was completely within his element and Nami had struggled to keep up with him. _How it's changed… from then. _Only she feels no satisfaction, only a hollow, deflated sense of emptiness.

"I never promised," Nami says instead. The fight has left her and only a heavy feeling of sluggishness and 'nothing' (not happiness, not anger, not sadness, not regret or guilt) fills her, "Not in those words, I never…" It doesn't feel right to apologise and Nami is not sure she would mean it, same as telling the boy to leave. A small, prideful part of her also doesn't want to believe the accusations he said are true. Did she… ever tell him specifically to go away? To leave her alone? She is sure she hasn't… maybe. Maybe her actions could be interpreted as nothing more than 'fuck off' rather than what she actually wanted: keep safe distance… but don't leave.

_Is that what I want? _

Her silence has lasted too long without any words to fit in it; no words that fit _right_. The words only pass through her mind, in and out, around and around without direction, without use or purpose. _Luffy you don't understand. I can't make you understand. You couldn't understand. Not you._

"Lu—" she finally mouths. Her lips barely move and certainly not enough for the boy to see, her voice not loud enough or existing enough for him to hear.

"Screw it! I don't care. Suit yourself," Luffy's eyes are dark and hard when they meet hers across the small, small, room. He drops his gaze first, the curve of his hat shadowing the upper half of his face as he abruptly lurches forward, so quickly compared to the stony stillness of both figures just five minutes before. The subtle gust of cold wind from outside brushes Nami's arm ever so slightly when the door is wrenched open and ceases when the door is closed once more with an audible 'bang' as the Pirate walks farther, farther, farther away.

_It's safe now. You can stop, _Nami thinks dully unsure of whether she is addressing herself or the boy. She slumps down on the ground where she stands, folding long legs underneath herself to support her still, still body.

The Pirate, of course, doesn't return. He keeps moving where the thief has stopped completely. Eventually, the latter picks herself up but by then, it is long too late.

* * *

The fight itself has little impact on Nami, after the initial argument. She has only known him a week. She didn't think it possible for two people to have enough of a foundation to fight upon after a week but she doesn't dwell on that fact, nor the eventual conclusion that she was the one who started it. The argument, in a word, was useless. In another, ineffective. What was the point of an argument where two people do not even know where to jab the most vulnerable part of the other? Again and again, Nami replays the exact words of the argument and the exact tones in which they were said in her mind, trying to find some rational point in the entire thing, and after that, where things could have gone differently to achieve it. Until she realised there really wasn't a point, besides wanting to push the Pirate away just far enough, but not completely, to keep herself (and him?) safe.

_Not to go away… Just… _the original impression of the Pirate infiltrates her head in the form of a bloodhound puppy and despite everything, it makes Nami smile, just a little bit, as she tackles the forgotten Biology homework at her desk in her room.

_Just, _"stay, and don't move," Nami whispers to herself. _Stay, don't move and wait for me._

* * *

"So what's up with you?" the rustle of plastic bags, the thump of shoes being kicked off against the wall and the jingle of keys being tossed on the bench precede the presence of Nojiko appearing in her bedroom doorway and her question. Nami swivels around in her chair, pen in hand and notes the plastic take-out containers in the noisy plastic bag.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome but answer the question."

"I don't understand."

At that, Nojiko places the bag calmly on the ground and strides shamelessly into her room, jabbing one finger at the clutter on the desk, "This, homework. Since when do you have to desperately catch up the night before?"

"I forgot about it," Nami brushes off, swatting her hand away, "I'm still settling in."

"Right," Nojiko snorts to subtly convey her true words of 'I-have-a-finely-tuned-bullshit-detector-and-you-my-friend-need-to-stop-Pinocchio-ing-me', "Do you have something on your mind?"

"Actually, according to this fun little diagram, I have a bunch of little people running around in my brain, putting words on conveyor belts for me and controlling me to make sure I can walk straight."

Nojiko laughs, "Oh yeah, I remember that. Good times." She straightens herself and taps Nami on top of her head, putting her other hand in front of her mouth, miming a walkie-talkie or radio device, complete with sound effects.

"Little Namis. Come in, Little Namis. I need you to control my sister and make her walk _straight _to the dinner table so we can eat dinner."

"Alright, alright!" Nami laughs, leaning out of reach of her sister's incessant tapping ("Sorry, I'm not getting a signal, your head's too thick!" "Stop it!"), "I'm coming, alright?"

Little things could coax Nami out of the room more effectively than tangerine chicken. Spearing a piece on her fork, she happily proceeds to scrape half the portion onto her plate as Nojiko comments, "I noticed when you avoided my question, you know – and hey, leave some for the rest of us!"

"Sorry."

"Geez," Nojiko smiles, taking the container and dumping out the rest on her plate, "Now, tell me the truth. Something happened, right?"

Nami busies herself with chewing her chicken and taking a sip of water, "Nothing much."

Here, Nami can tell Nojiko tries her best to sound nonchalant, and to avoid looking at the now near invisible bruises on Nami's arm, "Did… _they_—"

"Nothing to do with them," Nami shakes her head quickly, "They didn't do anything.

"I had a fight with a classmate."

"Huh." Nojiko chews her chicken thoughtfully, swallows and spears another. Nami waits for more words to no avail. Finally the latter speaks.

"'Huh'? Just 'huh'?"

"Huh," Nojiko repeats agreeably, "Did it happen here?"

A nod.

"Huh."

"Nojiko, seriously—"

"I don't mean it," Nojiko reaches her fork over and scrapes some vegetables onto her plate, "It's just… that's all I have to say – 'huh'. You've never had anyone over before and the first one you do, you get in a fight with," she has to stifle her laughter a little, taking a sip of water.

"I wasn't the one who invited him over—"

"Oh, the plot thickens," Nojiko abruptly leans forward, "'Him', huh? What's his name? Please tell me he's not a criminal."

"He's not a criminal." _Yet_.

"And? The name?"

Nami hesitates. For some reason, she feels kind of sheepish for admitting she got in a fight with Luffy already, especially considering her sister's apparent fondness for the boy from the first meeting in the car.

"Condoriano," Nami blurts on impulse. She vaguely remembers Usopp telling some story about a Condoriano fellow in the week, whoever he is prompting Zoro to also weigh in on a rare occasion by saying "he was damn annoying".

"Condoriano," Nojiko repeats in a flat, disbelieving tone. Nami almost has to laugh at her bemused expression as she confirms.

"Condoriano."

"Well, you can't even make that kind of stuff up. What did you fight with Condoriano about?"

"Just… stupid stuff," Nami pokes her food around, taking a small nibble of a carrot, "Nothing important really."

"Important enough that you wouldn't be able to concentrate on your work."

Nami stabs the next unfortunate carrot, "It's really nothing. L – Condoriano and I will work it out at school."

Nojiko raises one sceptical eyebrow at her sister's near slip but doesn't comment, "Sure. You and _Condoriano _do that."

Both sisters eat in silence for a while and Nojiko finally says, "Work was alright, if you were wondering. Though some customers should really keep in mind I have the power to spit in their food."

At that, Nami cracks a smile and eventually Nojiko coaxes a wider one out of her with more vague stories from work and the apparent idiots who "can't recognise a red light when they see one. Oh, by the way, I even got leftover cheesecake; we should probably eat it soon though, I have no idea how long it lasts…

"But, that's my day," Nojiko leans back, her plate cleared off and she hangs her head over the back of the chair, "What were you doing all day before your fight with Condoriano?"

_Who? Oh, right._

"Budgeting, the usual," Nami answers, "If we keep going at this rate, we'll have his payment ready."

"Anything to spare?"

"Barely anything. As usual." The girl keeps her eyes up and alert, yet downcast just enough to portray frustration or faked nonchalance. Her eyelashes brush her cheekbones as she blinks, "Just another month, right?"

Nojiko kicks her under the table.

"OW! Hey—!" Nami abruptly snaps her head up, her eyes narrowing into a fierce glare as she comes half out of her seat. The pain hasn't even reached her brain yet and her anger response, lying dormant and wrongly assumed to be used up for the day, lights like a match on oil, "What the hell was that—"

Nojiko, with her face propped on the heel of one hand, cracks a wide, Luffy-worthy—

_ARGH! _Sitting down in a huff, the girl crosses her arms tightly, her anger suddenly divided in favour of the boy.

"—That's more like it," Nojiko is saying, "It's too soon for you to be saying stuff like that.

"Now help me clean up." The chair scrapes against the floor again. It's such an unpleasant sound when Nami really pays attention to it. Feeling the need to direct her anger at every annoyance, she glares down at it and the expression immediately goes as soon as it comes.

There are scratch marks on the floor, from earlier, standing out starkly like jagged white scars.

"_I just don't understand you at all! What is your problem?" His eyes glare at her in anger that stirs in Nami a familiar sense of danger and fear; yet the fists balled tightly at his sides and the stiff, sharp line of his clenched jaw only convey one emotion to her perceptive instinct – frustration. No more. No danger. Not yet. _

"Nami?"

"Coming!" the girl responds, hurriedly moving to stall her thoughts, but they have already taken root. A heavy conscience weighs on her mind and remains there for the rest of the night, seeping in slowly to corrode her thoughts, until nothing more than pride and prejudice remain that prevent the thief from apologising to a Pirate.

* * *

Morning. Pirate Academy.

"Morning," Nami greets her mother as she dresses, pulling the blazer over her shoulders, "Are you doing well? There might be a few problems at the Pirate Academy today, but nothing I can't handle." She flashes a bright smile towards the woman, "Your do-everything daughter, right? I'm leaving now. I love you."

The walk to the Academy becomes routine over the course of a week and Nami feels cheated if she doesn't get a sufficient whiff of fresh coffee, sizzling bacon and car fumes, usually about five to ten minutes into her walk along the strip of cafés and boutiques. She saves a secret, satisfied smile for the boutique near the café that doesn't have CCTV. The investigation had since been largely forgotten about after the initial frenzy and filed away under minor cases that no one particularly cared about after the newspaper story went out of print. The mannequin even sports a new outfit, promoting the new stock from that new designer, Pappug, Criminal. The media coverage must have been enough for a popular brand to take advantage of it. At least it seems to justify her actions, Nami thinks as she watches the streams of customers entering and leaving the shop, craning her neck until she can no longer see them.

"Nami!"

At her name being called, Nami automatically snaps her head forward and meets the eyes of Makino standing nearby the railing of her café.

(_"Yo!"_

"_The hell with 'yo'! You almost gave me a heart attack!"_)

"Makino," Nami greets easily, though her eye flicks upward toward the only window Luffy must have leapt out of before. It's pulled firmly shut and curtains cover it from the outside world. Her gaze returns to her caller, "Good morning." _I wonder if she's mad at me._

Yet Makino's eyes betray no ulterior motive when she returns the phrase and tilts her head to one side slightly, "How was your first day," and here a mischievous smile plays on her lips, "at Pirate Academy?" Immediately her face gives way for a giggle, "Luffy told me that's what you took to calling it."

"Is he here?" Nami blurts out without thinking, immediately regretting it when she sees the café door swing open with a musical jingle, but only a middle-aged man hurries out with a takeaway coffee, calling over his shoulder, "See you, Makino!"

"See you," Makino replies with a closed-eye smile. When she returns to Nami, she says, "Luffy? No, he's not here this morning, even though I saw Ace earlier. He probably overslept at home again. Sometimes not even the promise of food can get him here fast enough."

"At… home?" Nami blinks, "Isn't this…" By then, she realises how utterly bemused she sounds and smooths out her tone and delivery, "I thought they lived here, I mean."

"Oh, no, that wouldn't be possible; I would go out of business with Luffy alone!" Makino laughs, raising a hand to her lips, "I'm sorry Nami, they don't live here, although they drop by often enough so I let them spend the night if they need. They live with… an acquaintance of their grandfather, Garp-san. It's… a long way out of the city; in the mountains, in fact."

"_Mountains_?"

"Yes, it's very…" her expression turns into a gentle smile, "… unique. It suits them well, in a sense, although that probably sounds quite harsh on my behalf. I'm guessing Luffy returned home over the weekend. Ace left after his hangover healed and I haven't seen either of them until this morning. What those two boys must do up there…

"But I'm rambling, aren't I? I better let you go and get back to work, but before that…" she turns towards the door but twists her head slightly to wink back at Nami, "I think I have chocolate chip muffins on the counter and no one to give them to, if you're interested?"

* * *

Once again, Nami finds herself walking the rest of her trip with a muffin; only without her cheerful companion and the obligation to talk, she manages to consume the entire muffin long before the grand school gates come into view. The sight of it still strikes her every time she ascends the slight slope and sees the tips of its opulent roofs appear; the same feeling of mild nausea in anticipation of entering a school full of Pirates and former Pirates still coils in her stomach uncomfortably and the weight of her bag suddenly feels much heavier against her back and healing bruises.

It feels like she is starting school all over again the way she always had – alone.

Shaking herself, she strides purposefully forward, determined not to allow moping to take over her day.

* * *

The plan was all well and good, until the five minutes had passed and Nami enters the English classroom and sees his form perching cross-legged on the table. Déjà vu hits her like a truck: everything, from the way he actually sits in a variant of crossing his legs (by pressing the arches of his feet together and bracing his hands on his knees) to Chopper scolding an inattentive Zoro about injuries and bandages to Usopp half-joking and half-yelling at Luffy, is exactly the same as the first time.

Only she's not.

_It's always been that way though._

Then Usopp calls out, "Hey Nami! Morning!"

The sound shocks her to attention, "Morning!" she all but shrieks, catching the attention of the two statuesque girls. They turn and look at her with subdued interest before turning back to their group. It is still enough for Nami to freeze for the briefest of moments before she directs a mock frown, "Hey, you interrupted my train of thought! How am I supposed to effectively explain Mercutio's ultimate contribution to Romeo's characterisation now?"

Usopp snorts, "Sounds like I saved you, more like it." But he cracks a grin, "At least someone's been working on the assignment!"

"Chopper?" Nami questions, raising an eyebrow at the boy sulkily resigned to his seat, unsuccessful in convincing Zoro to be re-bandaged… Only for Zoro to finally stick out an arm when Chopper turns around concernedly and the latter practically leaps out of his seat at the opportunity in disbelief. He wastes no time in deftly taking care of the older boy, grinning happily.

"You'd think," Usopp is saying, "Half his time he scolds Zoro and the other half learning under Dr. Kureha, but you're right, I guess. Out of the four of us at least, Chopper is the only one with a hope of graduating with high marks. Or graduating at all," he adds with a dead-panned face that coaxes another unexpected laugh from Nami. Immediately, her hand comes up to stifle the sound automatically, quietly reprimanding herself. _This day is just too weird. And Luffy is—_

… Not with them anymore, Nami realises when she sees his empty seat. She spies him perching over by the pink-haired girl's desk (Bonney?), rocking back and forth hugging his knees, "Hey, can I have some pizza too?"

"Nope."

"Please."

"Go away."

"Just a little?"

"What's with you?" the girl finally snaps, rocking forward so her chair actually stands properly, "Wouldn't you just steal it any other day?"

"Yeah, what's wrong, Straw Hat?" Kidd drawls from his seat, leaning over himself only to have the pizza box snatched from under his grip by an irate Bonney. At the same time, Basil Hawkins sitting on her other side deftly swipes a slice without the notice of anyone. He returns to his cards quietly, never making a sound.

"Don't be so selfish, you bastard; one slice!" Luffy whines.

"As if!"

"Wonder what's wrong with Luffy," Chopper remarks, sliding into his seat beside Nami. He still seems content at having apparently won over Zoro but his brow creases at Luffy, "He usually doesn't bother them this long."

"This is a regular thing?" Nami inquires.

"Yeah," Chopper nods. His frown deepens slightly, "I'm glad. Luffy hasn't been—"

"CLASS ~Luffy~ TO ATTENTION!" yells Hancock, marching in, entrance as grand as the first day. Chopper actually leaps a little, jolting his desk. The sound is masked by a triumphant yell from Luffy who wrestles the pizza box off a cursing Bonney and starts running around the room devouring the contents. Some classmates start laughing and cheering while others watch in amusement and others seem oblivious to the whole thing. Hancock roars from the front of the room, "BONNEY! What do you think you're doing in my classroom?"

"Usopp, pass!" calls Luffy, tossing the box like a Frisbee to the flustered boy who only manages to catch the object before it flies open, "Good job!"

"OI!" Usopp complains, "LUF— Oh, hey! Guys, pepperoni! Zoro, get up!" Usopp starts passing around slices to Zoro and Chopper. As Nami watches in part bemusement and part disgust, Usopp proffers the box, "Last one, better take it."

_It smells good… _She takes it, allowing a smile, "Thanks."

"A tip: hold it like this," Usopp demonstrates, "So Luffy can't steal it."

"STRAW HAT!" the sound of a table being shoved against the wall erupts loudly somewhere to Nami's left followed by a rumble of falling books.

Quietly, the girl finishes her pizza slice, cleaning off her greasy fingers and slowly, silently becoming detached from the situation around her; ignoring Hancock yelling, Bonney yelling and Luffy running, vaulting over tables and people, much to their annoyance. At last, he lands with a crash into his seat and yells, "SAFE!" whipping his arms to the side like a baseball umpire. The whole class bursts out laughing, even Bonney who can't trap her amused grin in time, although in a second she comes stomping forward with a wolf's glare before Hancock intervenes loudly. All the while, the class laughs. Beside her, Chopper and Usopp are holding their sides in laughter. Even Zoro laughs openly.

While the rest of the class laughs, Nami finishes ruling her page and arranging her pens in order of height and colour. When she looks to the side, she sees Luffy, who has (should have) the loudest laugh of all, as silent as she is. His gaze is directed straight forward, not looking at her even though she suspects he must sense her own stare. His laughter should be reverberating in the room.

His isn't now, and neither is hers.

She wonders:

_Is it my fault?_

Her guilt at already knowing she is at least in part to blame:

_How can I apologise?_

_To a Pirate?_

* * *

**So. It's been a while. **

**Truly, the story is moving quite slowly. Kind of like a turtle pace (are snails slower? Or turtles?).**

**It is hard to get the right balance of emotions and to create an argument where one side is as justified as the other. I hope you guys are annoyed with someone; that someone depending on whatever your perspective on the situation may be… that would make me feel really accomplished! If I made the characters relatable, that's even better.**

**Thank you for being patient; I know it must be frustrating to wait…**

**Hopefully, I shall update soon.**

**BTS-SilverLinings. **


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine – Somewhere in Pirate Academy**

* * *

Nami tries to play out the rest of the day as naturally as possible after the episode in English, meaning she studiously avoids the presence of Monkey D. Luffy. All the while, the thought of apologising plays annoyingly in the back of her mind when she couldn't push it away by distracting herself. She could be upfront or casual about it. She could say she was having a bad day. She could explain herself, though she didn't have any idea how. There seems to be a reason to counter each method she comes up with and she avoids the whole process until lunchtime.

At lunchtime, it is Zoro who notices her moving to follow the flow of the crowd towards the other side of the school from their rooftop and the cafeteria.

"We're all going up to the roof," he mentions, "In case you get lost."

Nami feels a twitch in her eye. _As if you're one to talk. _She has noticed either Chopper or Usopp having to personally escort Zoro between classes or to anywhere he needs to go. When she made a joke about the two being chaperones, Usopp had rolled his eyes and replied, "You have no idea how accurate you are" before explaining the green-haired boy's notoriously hopeless sense of direction.

"All right," Nami replies. She turns and keeps walking, wondering if Zoro would call out again. He doesn't, and when Nami looks back, he's already gone.

* * *

The medieval plaza is still the same when Nami sits back against the wall which offers her merciful shade from the sun. It seems either the spot is completely dismissed by the entirety of the student population or none of them are even aware of its existence. There isn't even the sound of any living person nearby as the walls are virtually soundproof to the outside world: a completely silent, exclusive spot…

… Except for the one who introduced her to its existence in the first place.

It is when Nami is thoughtfully chewing on her noodles and debating whether or not to double-double check her Biology homework that a loud voice yells, "FIRE!"

The jolt makes Nami lurch forward and start choking on her food, flinging her utensils aside to automatically cover her mouth. _Am I supposed to cover my nose with my shirt? Wait, do I have to soak it first—?_

Then a finger lowers and pokes her right on the crown of her head and the same voice speaks again, "False alarm. It's just this girl's orange hair." A laugh in response to her exasperated exclamation ("OI!") and, "Sorry, I couldn't help it." Opposite her, Ace drops cross-legged to the ground with a wicked grin, then changing his mind and pushing out his knees halfway in front of him instead, "What's up? Apart from your middle finger," he adds.

Sighing and still looking mildly miffed in a joking matter, Nami stops herself from another snide remark and says, "Nothing new. You?"

He waves a hand, "The usual. I went home for a bit and then Luffy and I trained with Gramps before we came back. Is Luffy here today?"

"Yeah, on the rooftop. Didn't you go see him first?"

Ace never drops her gaze once, "I was. Then I noticed you here and, well…" Here his look changes, selecting his next choice of words carefully, "I know Luffy can handle himself around Pirates."

Before Nami has a chance to ask, Ace continues, "Did you and Luffy have a fight?"

"Yeah. What do you mean with what you said before?"

"Geez. I know he has a habit of pissing people off but this is a record even for him," Ace sighs, ignoring her question, "He doesn't take fights well. Not ones with words, anyway." He looks at her with a reserved look, but underneath that, Nami can see the genuine concern and sincerity, "I don't know what your fight's about but please don't go too hard on him.

"He's my little brother, after all."

"Did you come to speak on his behalf?"

"Nope, he doesn't want me meddling at all actually but if I don't, I'll be the one having to put up with his moping." He pulls a face, "I hate dealing with that. Please make up quickly for my sake." In the latter sentence, he adopts a formal, polite tone.

"It's not that easy…" Nami starts but Ace is already pushing himself off the ground and dusting off his cargo shorts, slinging a backpack over one shoulder, murmuring to himself, "OK, one job done. See you around!" he calls as he dashes towards and disappears in a wide crevice.

"Hey, you—!" Nami calls but it is no use. They boy has already disappeared without another backward glance. She sighs and sits back forcefully against the wall, wondering if she has become a pushover. The thought is almost enough to completely dispel her intent to make up with Luffy out of stubbornness.

"I'm not apologising to that idiot first. I won't," she mutters around a mouthful of noodles, chewing furiously.

* * *

Zoro doesn't mention her absence in Biology, choosing to resume another interrupted nap much to Trafalgar's annoyance. Nami feels somewhat thankful she managed to remember to complete her homework as her teacher makes the rounds, glaring at Zoro beside her right before he turns the look to her, and waits as she hastily flips through the completed sheets. With a sound of approval, he returns to the front of the room.

"Despite what you think, no one actually gets killed here," a deep voice drawls beside her, "So you don't have to look so afraid."

When Nami doesn't reply, the green head lifts and Zoro fixes her with his permanent grumpy look, "Tra-guy's pretty harmless out of all of them."

"We'll see about that after he notices you're awake," Nami whispers back, keeping her gaze straight forward. This is in part because this anatomy thing is probably crucial to her graduating and, in a significantly lesser part, because she is, for some reason, covering for this boy.

When she looks back, his head is once again buried into his arms. Is he _ever _awake? Nami continues making notes as a presentation plays through, labelling her diagram neatly. All throughout the class, the boy beside her never budges an inch, completely still but for the slight rise and drop of his shoulders.

* * *

When Nami arrives at the station that afternoon, sans-Luffy, Ain immediately hustles her back out.

"Wait, what—" Nami starts as the girl guides her out and around the building, towards where the cars are parked.

"Can you drive?"

"Sure, but—"

"Good. Watch your head."

"Is this even legal?" Nami cries, getting manhandled into the driver's seat, "Can't you drive?"

"Need a supervisor with me," Ain replies, shutting her passenger door, "Technically, I'm still on parole."

"But I'm not—"

"Not my concern," Ain waves a hand, "The only thing I care about is getting to the scene."

"Well, I care about my job and keeping it," Nami snaps, "So, I'm going back inside and you'll have to find someone else."

She is actually surprised she manages to get back into the station without Ain physically dragging her back. Perhaps that should have been the first clue.

Open on the desk, next to a perfect pyramid of ballpoint pens, are two files open with several loose leafs spilling out. Bold ink on the top of one reads _F District—_

Nami shoves aside the loose papers covering the rest of the page. Beneath the heading is an address and other numerical details Nami is not familiar with. In other neatly organised notes on the page, written by someone with contrastingly messy script, are brief sentences, describing criminal activities, areas of surveillance, reported incidents and new faces. The rest of the papers in the file are all profiles of the criminals in F District. Coming to the conclusion there is nothing important there, Nami discards that file and discreetly peeks at the other file. It is not labelled.

But the first page is titled _'Report – F District' _followed by a date. A recent one; a few days after the move.

Flipping to the next page, there is a heading: _'Arlong – Fishmen Pirates'_. Beneath it are tally marks, two sets of five and three stand-alone lines. Beside that is scrawled _N/A. _A question mark is drawn beside it. On the remainder of the page is a hierarchy chart. Arlong's name is written at the top. No picture. On the remaining branches are differing entries: some have a picture, some have a name, some have both or neither. The chart is largely incomplete, Nami can see that now. Every picture that is there is incredibly dark and black-and-white…

_A photocopy, _Nami realises, flipping back to the front page. Black and white. Small, discreet spots break up the letters where the ink never made it. Rifling through the rest of the papers, there are photocopies of individual profiles for each name or picture on the hierarchy chart, ordered from Arlong and descending in rank. The information is fairly limited, comprised of brief notes of sightings, criminal activities, base of operations, accounts from infiltrators and anybody who rings in with information, anonymous or otherwise. Overall, there is not much substantial evidence, and certainly not solid enough to convict anyone. Despite it all, Nami feels a sick, twisted sort of feeling of pride – she organised most of this; most of them can thank her for saving their necks from a jail sentence.

When she reaches the end, she closes the file carefully and notices a sticky note stuck to the front: _'to be added to F Dist. File'_.

Arlong and his crew's names are going to be recorded into the official records. _No._

A smaller thought: _yes. Finally, finally something is going to be done._

A larger thought: _he'll find out, he'll find out, he'll find out and—_

An image now: a floor stained with red. _Drip, drip, drop…_

The papers, irrespective of their correct file, are bundled into her arms before she realises what she's doing. She can't trash, burn or otherwise dispose of these papers, mainly because there are so many, she'd probably have a bonfire with them and also because one set are photocopies, meaning the original notes were somewhere else and more could be easily reproduced.

Logically, her mind works quickly. There is not much substantial information yet, nothing concrete or particularly incriminating. Clearly someone is watching the gang closely, tracking their activities and location. If it is an infiltrator, there is not much Nami can do about that. She would just hope that Arlong can sniff them out himself. If it is an outside person, however, all Nami had to do was alert the gang to keep a low profile for a while, disprove any criminal activities on their part, clean up the evidence and watch their names slowly disappear from police notice.

Of course to do that, she would have to go to F District. Lord knows she never owned a mobile phone in her life and was one of the few people left who relied on landlines, eliminating any possibility of communicating with Arlong by distance.

And so, she found herself wandering back out to the police cars all lined up in a row and found the one Ain still sits in, seemingly unbothered by the lack of driver. In fact, although her posture is still rigid and stick straight, Nami has a feeling had Ain been a little less disciplined, her feet would be up on the dashboard and the radio would be leaking out easy-listening music. Instead the police scanner is on, intercepting several snippets of news as Ain fiddles with it, bored.

"What's this?" Nami waves around the stack of papers outside her open window

"An area of your interests, I'm assuming given you frequent the area."

"It might be more in the interest of an actual police officer."

"I don't like _actual_ police officers," again, that same clipped, mocking tone carries over into Ain's words and she gives a sharp twist to the knob, completely cutting off the static sound, "I don't trust them, either." She reaches over, opens the driver's door and thrusts it outwards.

"In or out?"

* * *

"It would have been quicker if we went on the subway," Nami points out, tapping her fingers impatiently on the wheel. The red light seems to be mocking her.

"If we disappeared on the subway, Smoker would assume I went rogue."

"Stealing a police car is better?"

"I'm entitled to use it. It means I'm accepting their procedures.

"The police like that sort of thing."

The light turns green and the rest of the trip is passed in silence.

When Nami turns into F District, she has to feign nonchalance and cluelessness.

"So where are we going?"

"I'll direct you," Ain simply replies, "Make a left here."

_Straight until the grey cinderblock. Then right. _"Now straight. When you get to the grey cinderblock, make a right."

_The second left. _"Make the second left."

_There's a long straight road, a sharp bend at the end. Once clear of that, keep going straight until the one-way sign. Follow that and then one more left._

Beside her, Nami listens to Ain repeat her thoughts. She is careful not to indicate or otherwise stray from their route until Ain gives her instructions. Finally, they cruise along the road around the corner from Arlong's hideout.

"Kill the engine," Ain instructs, "And ease us into that space over there," she points towards a narrow spot between two ancient cars.

"I never underwent the police driving course," Nami mutters, craning her neck to make sure she doesn't collide with anything as she painstakingly reverses into the spot. Ain, meanwhile, is already unclipping her seatbelt with a hand on the car door handle, as if ready to duck-and-roll out.

"You stay here. Don't move and wait for me to come back," Ain says. Without another word, she slips out, striding silently in her uniform up the remainder of the road and around the corner. Nami waits for a few seconds, counts to thirty more in her head. She sees and hears nothing. Then she yanks down the sleeve of her blazer to cover her hand and probes around the dashboard of the car, pushing in several compartments to open them._ Gloves, a couple of notebooks, a pen, rubber bands and key chains… _Finally one compartment releases with the faint clink of loose change. Using her covered hand, Nami scrapes up a few coins, cringing at the loud metallic chimes in the silence and quietly closes the small compartment. Then, with another quick check, she climbs out of the car.

_Now to find a payphone. _

* * *

"To whom do I owe the pleasure?" Arlong's pleasant voice sounds in the receiver.

Nami's voice, when it comes out, sounds exactly as she'd improvised on the way to find a phone: low, guttural, completely unrecognisable as her own, "Do not speak my name. Am I on speaker?"

"Of course not. I like to keep our conversations private." The smug tone of his voice indicates he saw completely through her flimsy attempt at disguise before Nami even relents it. Without immediate threat of being caught out by her voice, she speaks normally, "You're being watched Arlong, right now. One person, no back up."

Silence. Then, "I see."

"Send out Chew or Kuroobi first to somewhere that won't garner suspicion. The person will follow them. I'll give you more information then."

She waits while Arlong gives his orders. After a pause, he says, "What have you found out?"

"You're on a watch list right now and on the brink of being added to a list of confirmed criminals. It's a hassle to sort out once that line has been crossed. I suggest keeping a low profile for a while, just until this whole thing blows over."

"It didn't take long for the police dogs," Arlong remarks, "I could even say… they seem to have caught on _very _quickly; almost as if they have been anticipating us."

"The city might be a bit more competent than other places," Nami replies coolly, "Don't forget you have a reputation already and the anonymous tip to boot."

"I suppose the _anonymous _tip could have played a part."

Nami ignores the small dig and continues, "That's only my suggestion. But I've warned you. They have their eye on you."

"Is that a threat?"

"Information. Information that I have always given you."

There is a long, weighted pause. Nami glances around her once more, paranoid of having a witness to this event. But the phone booth is set quite far out of the way of the normal crowds and passageways, set in a small, deserted alleyway. The paranoia stays with her, almost making her jump when Arlong's voice finally comes through.

"I see."

He hangs up. Perhaps if she didn't know better, Nami might be relieved she'd been cut loose. But she knew there would be a follow-up call; a light reminder for payment with heavier consequences.

She replaces the receiver and makes her way back to the car. Only when she is back inside its cab does she release a weighted exhale. It seems ironic.

_No one around here would dare hurt me now, _she thinks to herself. Usually it took a week or so, but Arlong's influence would definitely be settling in the territory of this district now and his underlings' faces would be well known to outsiders. Including hers. The red-haired girl, Arlong's little pet. She grimaces at the likely nickname (considering past residences) but if the status would keep her out of most harm's way, she wouldn't complain.

* * *

"It felt strange." Ain finally talks as the car wounds out from the meandering roads and twisted turns of F District, "The two men I followed."

"Were they suspicious?"

"I thought I could catch them, but they weren't doing anything wrong. I should have stayed," she only murmurs this very, very quietly to herself, in a way that if Nami hadn't been actively paying attention, she would have missed it completely. Then silence follows, as the two sit, contemplating.

"It should have been a good lead," she says instead, "You didn't do anything wrong either."

Ain doesn't reply and she stays quiet for the rest of the trip.

* * *

Nami's can distinctly feel the knuckles of her hand crack and splinter when she guides the car back into the lot for she grips the steering wheel so tightly. There, in the exact centre of the space stands Tashigi, her arms folded across her chest and a direct glare that could freeze right through the windshield. Below her breath, Ain sighs sharply, an answering frown marring her features.

"Not a word," Ain hisses before Nami can make any sort of apologetic gesture or at the very least a gesture to usher her superior from the space. As it is, she awkwardly idles in the open lot, not sure what is expected of her in this situation. Does she cut the engine? Get out and try to salvage what seems like a definite loss of her job? Then, Tashigi abruptly strides to the passenger's window and raps firmly on the bulletproof pane.

Ain calmly lets the window down, "Yes?"

"Where have you been?"

"Investigating a lead."

"You're supposed to have an officer of the station accompanying you. Nami does not qualify in that regard."

"I'm meant to have a supervisor."

"An _approved _supervisor, which is predetermined by the _police_."

"Nami, myself and the borrowed car – that is well within my privileges as _predetermined by the police_ as long as I remain an unarmed and civil passenger – have all returned safely to the station without mishap. Nami can support that. We were investigating an official lead and I have information gained from it. I would be happy to share what I've learnt if both of us can have immunity from—"

"If you put her in _any _danger; not even considering that you have still violated the conditions of your parole—"

"I _never_ endangered Nami," Ain rebuts smoothly, "She drove me there and back. That's it. I investigated alone.

"As for the conditions of my parole, perhaps there is a technicality in there that agrees with you. However, as I have said, I have gained new information that none of your scouts or inside men or whoever you've got on it have managed to gain. I will only share voluntarily if we are both granted immunity from punishment."

Tashigi still fumes, suspicion and anger clearly written in her features.

"I'm not a police officer, Tashigi-san. I have the same rights of voluntary sharing of information as any citizen. Which is more important?"

"Did Nami have any knowledge of the conditions of your parole?"

"No," Ain replies immediately without any distinct change of tone or speech, "I only asked a favour of a friend. She had no idea." _She's a better liar than I am_, Nami thinks in wonder.

Tashigi seems to buy this, at least. She stands still in suspicion for several seconds, and then she abruptly speaks, "I can only offer as much as a slap on the wrist for violating our rules, particularly Nami, for leaving without permission. I'll have to set some sort of example within the station but as far as severe punishment goes, I'll let it slide in exchange for the information. However, I feel obliged to tell you that if this information does not prove as useful as you imply, I _will _contact your parole officer, Ain." She looks briefly over at Nami, "And you are not completely in the clear either." Her gaze switches back, "Do we have an agreement?"

Ain doesn't hesitate, "Agreed."

* * *

Nami had expected Smoker to come marching out of his office, agreements between his subordinates be damned, and make an example of the two of them regardless. But when Ain re-emerges from the elevator alone and calmly takes a seat at her desk, the lobby is silent.

"Safe, for now," Ain says.

"I thought you said we didn't have any new information."

"It's easy to lie."

"It's kind of a complicated lie…"

"Not really, the best lies are the simplest ones. Besides, leads can change all the time. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary if some things I said don't match up tomorrow or a week later.

"It's like I said, Nami: safe, for now."

* * *

_What a day_, Nami trudges up the road, then the path, to her home, subtly dreading the stack of assigned homework she'd have to complete before dinner. She never wanted a late night; particularly when circumstances required her to wake up early on most mornings.

_Maybe I'd better check the apartment in F District first thing tomorrow… _It had been too risky to do so previously.

The sound of knocking snaps her out of her thoughts. When she looks up, she sees the shape of a suited man raising his hand to rap on the door once more.

"No one's home," she says, approaching him. Her hand finds the key and extracts it from her pocket, "Until now. Can I help you?"

"Would you happen to be a Miss Nojiko?"

"She's my older sister, but she's working right now and won't be back until late. Can I take a message?" The man is odd, Nami can't help but think. He is dressed formally and his face reflects a matching expression, yet there is something else beneath those small, beady eyes. Nami recognises the look, having utilised it herself many times; the look of an assessment, of analysing the target in quick succession.

"If you could inform her a routine inspection and interview will be forthcoming, I will appreciate it," he says. The message is polite, the tone is anything but. It makes a sense of foreboding rise in her.

"Inspection?" she blinks, one hand on the handle.

"Yes." Despite the clear question in Nami's tone, the man chooses to ignore this and turns to depart. Nami opens her mouth to ask more directly but he interrupts her without turning around.

"Please also give your sister best regards from Nezumi."


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten – Somewhere in a Restaurant**

* * *

"Good work today, Nojiko!" one of her co-workers, changed into a formfitting black dress complete with freshly applied red lipstick, waves at her as she leaves the change room. Nojiko responds with a raised eyebrow and knowing smile, "Have mercy on the poor soul."

"Never," her co-worker responds, grinning wickedly, "See you tomorrow."

"Have fun."

"There's no reason that can't be you," another girl, whose name continues to escape Nojiko since their first introduction, remarks. The girl is younger, a little above Nami's age and a high-school dropout, but it was out of choice. She didn't lack intelligence or work ethic, which was enough for Nojiko's good favour.

"I wish," Nojiko says in reply, successfully finding her shirt and slipping it over her head, "I just don't have time."

"Nojiko-san, you work too hard, too much and too late. There's nothing wrong with taking a break sometimes, you know. The invitation's always open if you want to go out with us sometime."

"Thanks, but I really couldn't."

The girl doesn't push her. (For that, Nojiko can't tell if she's more relieved or disappointed.)

"All right. Suit yourself."

* * *

On the way home, Nojiko tunes into the usual radio station, the one with the EDM remixes. Nami thinks she hates them, but in reality the music doesn't bother her. To the contrary, it makes her think; listening to the repetitive beats her co-workers always hum when re-enacting embarrassing situations that occurred at the party that night before.

_So this is what it would be like. _Well, not really. Listening to the same music isn't the same as being there.

Nojiko couldn't be sure of what her expression is when she listens to it, but she didn't want to take chances with Nami's uncanny observational skills. So she never played them with Nami beside her.

She makes sure to turn the station to one blaring oldies' tunes when she approaches the turn-off to the apartment.

* * *

"I'm home!" Nojiko shuts the door behind her and kicks off her shoes, balancing herself against the wall to keep the bag of takeaway steady, "Nami?"

Soon, after Nojiko discovers her sister sitting cross-legged atop her bed reading her beloved books on cartography (a relief to see Nami acting her usual self again), the two are seated once more at the table but this time with plates of grilled vegetable kebabs and kale chips between them.

"I have to say, after tangerine chicken, this is a bit…"

"I thought we'd try something different. Besides, we still have leftover cheesecake from last night. Or did you forget?" she quips as Nami's expression turns confused. Quickly, the younger girl backtracks, "No. Yeah, I remember."

"Sure." Nojiko smiles but she can't deny that small, small part of her that feels a little… disappointed.

_You're being ridiculous. It's leftover cheesecake, for God's sake, of course she'd forget about it. _

_(Not if she actually paid attention when you talk)._

"So how was your day?" Nojiko pushes aside the nagging voices in the back of her mind further and further away until it almost disappears. It's just been a busy day. She's just tired. It's nothing to get worked up about. Yet the small frustration doesn't disappear despite her rationalisations, "Anything interesting happen?"

"Nothing at all. You?"

_Liar_.

"Nothing either. The usual."

Nojiko never confronts Nami, employing a strict 'don't-ask-don't-tell' policy when it comes to engaging her. Any other way and it would surely cause her to withdraw more than what she had originally. Nami is stubborn but she isn't stupid. She would share anything that needed to be.

Eventually, she does

"A guy came around asking for you today."

"A guy? Who?"

"I don't know. He didn't say his name." Nami pauses for a bite of kebab, swallows and continues, "He was in a suit, though and said something about sending his best regards? I don't know, something like that. Sound familiar?"

Nojiko clenches, hard, on her cup with enough force to shake it and the liquid inside laps threateningly towards the edge. The one thought stabs her mind and remains there like a shot arrow. She could snap the shaft off but the point could only burrow deeper the harder she tries to force it out.

_Nezumi. Nezumi. It has to be Nezumi. Why now? Why today? They said I have more time, they said—_

"Nojiko?"

"It could be someone from work," she forces out eventually, feeling the clock tick-tick-tick the seconds away, stripping her of her control over the situation. Firmly, she continues, "Yeah, maybe one of my bosses or superiors; maybe I'm getting a promotion!" She adds a grin for good measure and hopes it isn't too much. From the way Nami blinks at her with an odd expression on her face (and certainly not one that expresses trust), Nojiko strongly suspects this act will not go over.

_Tell her the truth?_

_**No, don't**__._

The urge is so strong, it almost makes Nojiko bite her lip, her standard habit in stressful situations. She remembers this dilemma – it had originally occurred almost ten years ago, when Nojiko had been beginning to comprehend her family's relatively threadbare lifestyle. It was after Nami had received her daily, slightly-altered hand-me-downs. She had thrown a fit, demanding why they never got new clothes or new _anything _for that matter. It was one of the few times Nojiko had seen her mother look truly saddened, after Nami had stormed out of the room. From that moment, Nojiko began piecing her isolated suspicions together and finally managed to somewhat understand their living conditions. Her mother knew this. One day when they were cleaning up together and Nami was out on one of her burglaries at the local bookstore, Nojiko had finally asked.

"_Tell her the truth?"_

_Instantly her mother replied: "No, don't."_

The tone had implied it all. Her mother would take care of this. Her mother would fix this. Her mother could do this. Nojiko hadn't the lack of faith to argue. She _believed _her mother would make it all better.

Now, she is in the same position, once again in the same dilemma.

_Tell her the truth?_

Her own pride and guilt to live up to her only mother's standards flare up almost instantly: _**No, don't.**_

_It's OK. I can fix this. _She never wants to see that expression on Nami's face ever again.

_(Drip, drip, drop… Red, red, red)_

"Really, Nami, it's nothing to worry about. I'm sure it's just someone from work. We're pretty much unreachable since we don't have phones. It wouldn't be weird if someone had to come around here to find me."

"Wouldn't they know you'd still be working?"

Nojiko casually shrugs, "Someone from another workplace maybe? I can barely keep my own schedule straight; I can hardly expect anyone else to. It's probably someone from the day café who didn't know I was working tonight."

"OK." Nami looks back down to eat, seemingly accepting her explanation quietly.

The situation still feels like anything but.

* * *

As soon as dinner had ended and all the cleaning up done, Nami made an excuse of needing to finish up on some homework and retreated to her room. Nojiko, likewise, retreats to her own room and paces a while; her fingers running through her hair in thought.

The walls of the apartment were pretty thin. She would be able to hear if Nami moves from her room.

With that thought, Nojiko stops pacing and moves her fingers from her hair to the underside of her mattress. Lifting tentatively, the one open envelope greets her, as perfect as the first day when it arrived in the mail, the same day as the bank statements. She scoops it up, holding it by her nails as if it might burn her. An overly fancy insignia is stamped on the corner in bold black ink. Nojiko remembers it well. It had been the same symbol on the plaques in that cold room, on the corners of the notepads and on the side of the pen she used to sign her signature with.

_He said I could have time, _Nojiko thought with frustration, tearing out the damning piece of paper.

Beneath all the usual courtesies were the words in bold: _**A routine inspection and interview will commence one week from the date of which this notice is sent (please see top). Any and all members who hold custody must be present at the current residence that this notice is sent at 3:00PM. Cooperation and punctuality would be greatly appreciated.**_

_**PLEASE NOTE: FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE PROCEDURE MAY RESULT IN WITHDRAWAL OF CUSTODY OVER ANY MINORS UNDER THE GUARDIAN'S CURRENT CARE. **_

_I could lose custody over her, _Nojiko sits down on the edge of the bed, toying with the paper in her hands, the paper that ultimately held her sentence, whatever that may be. She wishes for it to be in her favour.

This couldn't happen if she and her sister were anywhere near Arlong.

Rather, the exact opposite needs to happen.

As twisted as it sounds, association with a boy with an influential commander for a grandfather should point somewhere in the right direction, right?

After she carefully replaces the letter under her mattress, Nojiko goes to Nami's room. Remembering Nami's delicate temper and tendency of blunt stubbornness should she be rubbed the wrong way, Nojiko takes care to knock before she enters this time. This could go either perfectly right or horribly wrong.

"Yeah?" Nami looks up briefly from her notebook when Nojiko enters. She actually has a pen tucked behind her ear, the picture of studious academic student. _Please preserve this image when they come here._

"I never asked about your fight with…" she has to pause, "Condoriano. Is everything all right now?"

"Yeah, we sorted it out." But Nami's downcast eyes give her away.

"OK." Nojiko crosses the room and questions with her eyes when she approaches Nami's desk. Her sister waves a 'go-ahead' hand and Nojiko sits down, twisting the chair so it faces the bed. Nami props herself up against the wall and marks her place in the book.

"We both know this fight has nothing to do with Condoriano."

"Yeah…"

"Luffy?"

"Yeah…"

"You're going to have to give me something more substantial than a 'yeah'." _Oh, God. _Quickly, Nojiko backtracks. _Less mother. More sister. _"I… I just mean I'm worried. This is one of your first actual arguments with… someone uninvolved since… what happened."

Luckily Nami remains placid, "I know. It's strange for me too. I don't know how it started, I just… lost my temper, I think. It won't happen again. I'll fix it."

"Hey, I'm not blaming you," Nojiko replies calmly, "Nor am I pressuring you to patch things up now…" _Um. _She isn't quite sure how to phrase her next words. Nami picks up on her hesitance.

"But…?" her sister speaks warily.

"… Please don't let it escalate," Nojiko says it like a question, her first mistake. Her second is letting it hang there in the tense silence without elaborating further. Immediately, that provokes Nami.

"Do you think I'm going to get in a fight with him?" Nami asks in disbelief.

"Well, given previous—"

"That was ten years ago!"

"Not true! At the Shimura home, you had their daughter in a headlock, you _punched_ their son—"

"Did you hear what they called us and our mother?" Nami retorts, anger in her eyes.

"Of course I did! That doesn't mean you can just go over and clobber them—" she cuts herself off. It wouldn't do to start being a hypocrite now. She knows she was thinking of doing the exact same thing back then, only Nami, as ever, had acted first, consequences be damned.

"It doesn't matter," Nojiko exhales sharply, "You could get away with that stuff when you were younger, but you can't anymore. Can you _just _listen?

"Nami, I can't… I can't have you getting into any trouble. Please. Your fight wasn't anything serious, was it?"

"It was a _stupid argument_," Nami sounds exasperated and she throws her book to one side, her gaze suddenly intense, "What is this about? Why are you suddenly asking about all this?"

That pride flares up with a vengeance; that pride that convinces Nojiko to push her sister to the sidelines.

"I'm worried," she answers honestly, "It's an academy for Pirates, of people that are like…" A image of Luffy and Ace hooting like little kids running through the rain and Luffy sprawled on the backseat of her car and Ace yelling at him to put his seatbelt on, of all things, all flash by in her mind. She feels sorry for throwing them in the shadows. But not enough to ease her pride.

"Like Arlong," she finishes, guilt clawing at the words leaving her mouth, "It's not like your previous schools. I just don't want you to get hurt by any more Pirates." Finally, that image of Nami smiling brightly at these two supposed Pirates stains the back of her mind.

"How did you know about Pirate Academy?" Nami says, her voice subdued. It isn't angry anymore; rather it sounds like how Nojiko feels: guilty, "I never told you."

"It's pretty common knowledge around town. A few workmates told me what it's like, what it's supposed to be, when I mentioned my younger sister is going there."

Nami nods, "I see. So you always knew?"

Nojiko cocks her head, "Weren't you going to tell me?"

"It wasn't intentional," Nami quickly defends herself but sobers, "It… just never crossed my mind. I think of it as 'Pirate Academy'… Did I call it that just before?"

"Yeah."

"But it doesn't feel like it," Nami seems suddenly very preoccupied with her notebook spine, "No, that's not right. It _did_, sometimes, but not in the way I was expecting? If that even makes sense. It's different," she tries again, "But it's not because I look around and think of how I'm surrounded by Pirates… No, ugh—" she flips the poor book again in frustration.

"It's OK," Nojiko whispers quietly, afraid of disrupting her sister's sudden revelry. Nami was _struggling _to find the words. Nojiko had never known Nami to _not _have a witty retort ready at all times. Her retorts were often all lies of course. It had always been very easy for Nami to lie with confidence. For once, Nojiko can see Nami is definitely not bluffing.

(Could she even say the same?)

"I'm not surrounded by my idea of Pirates," Nami speaks slowly, deliberately, testing each word for its honesty before proceeding confidently, "That's why I never told you."

"So… it just feels like an ordinary school, with nice Pirates?"

Nami pulls a face, "I wouldn't go that far."

Nojiko bursts out laughing, "Let me try again. Pirates, but _not _Pirates?"

"Applause!" Nami cheers, clapping her hands furiously as if to imitate an ovation, "Now the bit about the school."

"Is it worse than an ordinary school?"

"No, _better_! They have _pillars _and _a fountain _and statutes of Pirate-not-Pirates everywhere and the receptionist plays darts with her pens and…" she pauses, to breathe, to think and when she talks again, her voice is quieter, as if in small wonder and part annoyance (though she's smiling), "… and the people are all fucked up. Every single one of them."

"You never told me about your first day at school," Nojiko hints when the lull lapses into thoughtful silence, "We were both busy at the time."

For moments, Nami is quiet and Nojiko thinks she might have pushed for too much too soon. But then her little sister crosses her legs on top of her bed, leaning forward with a cheeky expression, "If you commit, you're going to have to listen to the _whole _thing, no exceptions."

"Over cheesecake?" Nojiko proposes.

Nami seems to hesitate for a second, weighing something in her mind. Finally she looks up.

"Actually, do you mind if I give it to a friend tomorrow?"

"Even if it has mould on it," Nojiko promises.

_Somehow, in some weird way, this is working out._

* * *

When Luffy had come to the café two days ago, Makino could tell something wasn't right. Instead of pleading for food, let alone attempting to merely steal anything (usually she deliberately left out an assorted platter, although she knew for a fact Luffy was incredibly proud of himself for all his successful 'robberies'), Luffy had walked very purposefully upstairs and remained there. Later, he only poked his head back down to tell her that if his grandfather came by to warn him so he could escape through the window. Again, he asked for no food, or greeted any of her customers, as was his routine. Then, Makino had begun to feel worried. She prepared as much meat as she was able, hoping to coax him down with the aroma to no avail. Eventually, she had to leave a plate right outside his door, lest Ace come in and devour everyone's servings without knowing.

Next, she attempted to talk to him. With the empty plate in hand, she straightened and knocked on his door, "Luffy?" This actually unnerved her. Luffy _never _left his door closed, even when his grandfather visited and subsequently beat him for the state of his room.

"What is it?" He hadn't sounded like he was crying or had been. That had been the only relief.

"Do you want to come out for a moment?"

"No."

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want seconds?"

"No. Thanks."

She just about beat down the door herself then, sure someone was holding a gun to his head in there and forcing him to recite lines. Then, Ace had put a hand on her shoulder, gently but firmly stopping her. When she looked at him, Ace just shook his head. Then he motioned politely for her to move and he entered the room himself.

That night, Makino fell asleep to one of their sparring matches. The next morning, she patched Luffy up. He'd said, "Sorry, Makino." She forgave him, but he didn't say anything more. Ace didn't have so much as a scratch. They hadn't fought the second night.

Now, the next morning, Makino still doesn't know what to think of the situation. No one had even talked about it and she didn't want to pry either. Ace left before the crack of dawn, probably to see his friends, before she could ask him. So that was that. She couldn't focus too much on it, not when there were customers to serve.

The bell rung and footsteps approached the counter as Makino was squeezing out whipped cream onto plates of assorted slice, "Please just give me a minute and I'll be right with you."

"It's OK. Take your time," Nami replies.

"Nami?" Makino abruptly turns around. The uniformed girl gives her a sheepish wave with one hand, the other holding what looks like a cake box.

"Now, Nami, you can't come around and freely advertise in my café," Makino jokingly scolds, picking up the plates.

"You have to give the other cafés a sporting chance," Nami replies easily. Makino smiles and reaches down to pluck up another plate, holding two in one hand, eyeing the final plate with disdain.

"I'm sorry to ask, but would you mind helping me carry that plate and that cappuccino over there?"

"No, of course." Nami falls into the role seamlessly, placing the box down upon the countertop with her bag in a seat.

They converse as they travel back to the counter afterward.

"You're here earlier than usual."

"I wanted to make sure I got here before Luffy left."

"You could have spared twenty minutes."

Nami giggles at that and raises her eyebrows at the new plates lining the table, ready to be served, "Do you still want some help?"

"If you would be so kind."

_She's a natural, _Makino thinks, watching Nami effortlessly work the room with natural charisma and confidence. She is so busy smiling like a proud mother, she doesn't even notice when his form comes sleepily down the stairs.

"Makino~" he complains, yawning, "I want to sleep more."

"Good morning, Luffy," she smiles, turning slightly to take in the familiar view: messy hair, crooked shirt collar with half of it upturned and the half-lidded eyes. Automatically, she goes over to straighten up his appearance and he doesn't protest, used to the routine. _He hasn't even jumped out the window to go to school since… _

"Mornin'…" he slurs.

"I think this is the last one," Nami approaches the counter, grinning as she spots the plate of tartlets.

They both spot each other at the same time. The tension in the air is almost physically suffocating. Quickly, Makino smooths out Luffy's shirt and makes a rushed escape, murmuring, "I'll leave you two alone," and grabs the plate before Nami can protest. Luffy suddenly looks wide awake, a feat at this time of day.

He doesn't look happy though, Makino thinks concernedly, and that is much rarer.

* * *

Nami can actually physically feel her palms start to sweat when she is fixed with that gaze. The cake box lies between the two of them, still innocuously perched on the counter, but Nami is afraid to move in case Luffy simply decides to brush past her. She should probably say something.

"Hey," she greets, "Good morning."

He doesn't budge an inch, "What do you want?"

_Well… OK. _Despite her purpose, a flare of annoyance rises in her but she suppresses it. _Calm down, calm down… this is what caused this in the first place… _

She glances at the clock above the counter and says, "Can we talk on the way to school?"

Although he still looks withdrawn and sceptical, he nods. Nami catches his curious gaze drifting to the cake box and the slight movements of his features as he inhales.

She smiles, "Do you want to bet on it?" She tries to bait him with her eyes, urging him to remember the words. Although he seems to be fighting it, she is sure he does. He's just too stubborn to play along with her.

"We're going, Makino!" he calls, turning to go without another word. Nami hopes the disappointment doesn't show on her face, but she turns around anyway and rounds the corner of the counter to say goodbye to Makino properly. By the time she turns back around, the door already swings shut and Luffy is gone.

Nami has to hastily grab her things to avoid being left behind. She turns and waves at Makino once more before she ducks out of the door. At least true to his word, Luffy waits for her by the railing, the guarded expression still dominating his face.

It remains that tense silence for the first minute. It feels much longer. Finally, realising that talking was part of the deal, Nami pipes up, "I know you're refusing to talk to me right now. So I'm going to go first.

"I'm sorry, but not for all of it. I'm sorry for snapping at you and yelling. I'm sorry for accusing you of things like they were wrong to do. But I'm not going to apologise for the words I said. I meant them, every single word and I'm not going to wish I could take them back." She takes a breath, waiting for a reaction. There is none and she feels safe to continue, "I _was _uncomfortable, Luffy. I wish you didn't keep trying to push me when I said _no_. I think… I feel that you might be mad because I don't trust you as much as you seem to trust me. But that's how I am. I can't trust easily and I need time to think by myself sometimes. I'm not going to apologise for that."

"But for everything else," Luffy suddenly talks, his voice flat and empty, "Everything else you can apologise for?"

"I can," Nami nods, "I _am_ sorry for the way I treated you. I wish I could take that back." This is getting way too sentimental and heavy. Nami resists the urge to fiddle with something out of discomfort and instead turns to look level with Luffy. He's looking at her; those black eyes like camera lenses snapping a picture with every occasional blink for analysis. It's unnerving being on this side of the conversation. Despite her best intentions, her fingers curl firmly around her bangle and squeeze until the metal nearly cuts into her skin.

She doesn't expect the sudden bump into her shoulder, enough to jolt her but not knock her down onto the pavement.

Then Luffy's laugh rings out, as familiar as sunlight in the morning. Nami can pick out the distinctive notes in it by now, the long shrieking first note and the short, happy 'ha-ha-ha-ha' that follows it.

"Don't worry about it," he says when he draws breath, "Come sit with us today?" It's a question, not a statement or an expectation and Nami smiles.

"Of course," she replies, "… _But _only if you win the bet."

"Chocolate cheesecake," Luffy hollers, loud enough that passer-bys look at the two with a bemused expression.

"Correct!" Nami flips open the lid… and is greeted with an empty space.

"I ate it before we left," the boy beside her adds unnecessarily, "It was delicious."

The same passer-bys could risk a second look and see the red-haired girl with outstretched arms like claws chasing an overjoyed boy that runs with his hat bobbing behind him. His laugh bounces off the pavements and buildings and could be heard over the traffic of early commuters. The girl's yelling can be heard too.

"It was supposed to be for _everybody_!"

"Does it matter?"

"YES!"


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven – Somewhere in a Pirate-not-Pirate Academy**

* * *

"Nami, it's really not that bad!" Usopp, despite reassuring voice, does little to ease Nami's nerves. He calls out again, "Just put one foot in front of the other."

The wind picks up, stirring Nami's hair from her shoulder to brush against her neck and she flinches, making the mistake of allowing the small movement to shatter her balance.

"This is crazy!" Nami yells, ending up once more sitting precariously on the steel runner, the wind ruffling her hair. She looks back at the part of the roof she has already crossed and consoles herself with the knowledge that at least she could walk confidently over half the distance before she feels the wind give her a firm shove to either side. At the end, waiting by the iron ladder is Usopp who gives her a cheerful wave that Nami gratefully returns. She had made precautions by making sure Usopp and Chopper were at either ends of the greenhouse, ready to come to her aid if need be. So far though, they had only waited patiently, never complaining once about how long she knew she was taking to cross the damned roof. She made a goal to walk over the entire roof today without having to resort to crawling. Luckily, both Chopper and Usopp were willing to encourage her on this.

"You're doing great!" Chopper encourages. He sits on the other side underneath the arch of the roofs. Dappled sunlight plays with his tawny hair as he shuffles to the edge of the passage and looks out concernedly at her, "Do you want help?"

"No, no, it's fine," immediately Nami draws herself up again, swallowing as she regains enough balance to stand up straighter, her knees still slightly bent, "Almost there…"

"It's easier if you don't look down," Chopper calls, "Look up at me and walk forward!"

"Got it," Nami replies, slowly inching her gaze upwards. Chopper's friendly smile urges her forward and she forces herself not to look down. Surprisingly, her steps are surer and know exactly where they need to go. As she steps into the passageway, her shoulders immediately slump and her feet gratefully wander upon solid ground.

"That was much better! Good job!" Chopper praises naturally, patting her arm. Soon afterwards Nami hears the thump of Usopp leaping from the runner to the passageway as well, effortlessly managing to cross the roof in a fraction of the time she took. At this, Nami pulls a face jokingly, "I must have resembled a snail to you."

Usopp laughs and pushes her shoulder good-naturedly, "Nah, you were all right. You should have been here when Zoro first crossed."

"Zoro?" Nami imagines the boy could still get from side to side with his eye closed and feet bound, "He was fine, wasn't he?"

"Sure," Usopp inclines his head slightly to urge the duo forward and then raises it again to point with his chin towards one of the sloping roofs overhead, "He somehow found himself up there, though."

"You're kidding," Nami deadpans, "It's a straight path though?"

"Never mind about that," both Chopper and Usopp speak in unison, waving their hands dismissively and Nami cracks up laughing. By now, they reach the open space of the rooftop garden.

"We didn't hear any screaming this time so I'm guessing it went well? Or did she do a silent chicken dance this time?" the familiar voice drawls.

"Why are you even still here?" Nami retorts. Ace grins in response.

"Seriously though, you managed to get across by yourself?"

"Eventually," she replies, "And I didn't do a silent chicken dance, either."

"Not bad."

Nami isn't sure whether she should reply with a 'thanks' or not and so decides to simply smile and walk back over to what has been dubbed the 'study duo'. It seems an overstatement really. Luffy is lying on his stomach and flipping through the pages of a Biology textbook with half-lidded eyes much too quickly to be actually absorbing any information. Zoro is sitting like a rock and glaring at his own textbook with enough intensity to burn a hole through it. Neither replies nor react when Nami sets herself opposite them and inquires about their progress.

"Bo-o-oring!" Luffy finally yells, startling everyone on the roof but Ace and Zoro who carry on without care. He stands up and abruptly slams the book closed with a demonic expression on his face, "It's so long and none of it even makes sense!"

"That's your cue, Chopper!" Usopp calls from where he lazily sprawls against one planter, tinkering with an object.

As the undisputed best student in Biology comes to Luffy's aid, the latter bends down, calmly picks up the book and chucks it clear over the edge of the building. Nami's jaw drops at the same time as Chopper's.

"LUFFY!" she and Chopper both yell; the former out of the anger and the latter of shock.

"It's my own book, not someone else's," Luffy defends himself but Nami ignores him.

"What the hell did you do that for?" she roars, scrambling to the edge of the roof onto the balcony. She cranes her neck and makes out the rectangular shape on the grass, "You could have killed someone!"

"Nobody walks there," Luffy states.

"As if you could have known that! Get down there and bring it back right now!"

"No."

She doesn't want to start an argument here over something that is relatively trivial in hindsight, but she lets out an exasperated growl and turns on her heel, stalking back towards the greenhouse, "Fine. I hope you look over the roof so I can chuck it right at your face."

She can almost hear his laughter, "I'll catch it."

"You'll hope so!"

"Nami, do you need us—" Usopp calls.

"No!" Nami yells before realising the speaker and she throws an apologetic smile over her shoulder, "I mean, no thank you. I'll be fine."

* * *

On the edge of the platform with the greenhouse looming before her, she is almost tempted to run back and rescind her words. The greenhouse looks eerily unstable with its thin panes and delicate, shimmering, deceptive surface in the sun's rays; and not nearly as safe as when someone is waiting on the other side. Nevertheless, she scolds herself to stop being such a coward. _Anything they can do…_

Her foot steps onto the runner before the far greater rational part of her brain can catch up and interfere with her thoughts. Forcing her eyes upward, even as the wind eagerly picked up to bully her incessantly, Nami repeats every word Usopp and Chopper drilled into her mind and calmly proceeds with caution. When the runner itself trembles, however, Nami immediately drops to her knees, clutching onto the steel for dear life. _Crawling it is…_

She decides to wait until the goddamned thing stops trembling. It does, but then a shadow falls over her and a drawling voice asks, "What are you doing?"

Too late Nami realises the steel shook not out of spite towards her but because someone else was actually walking on it. _Idiot_.

Ace still sounds amused; tall, lanky form peering down at her. He doesn't offer a hand. Maybe he has picked up on Nami's high tension and wisely proceeds with caution, lest the girl sends him tumbling off the roof. Nami wants to avoid eye-contact with him for if she initiates it, she fears she will lose the battle and doggedly ask for help. Ace is a Pirate. Nami can tell even if no one has explicitly told her. While she is comfortable with the idea of _these _Pirates, it doesn't necessarily go to the extent that she will start asking favours of them.

So they both wait it out…

… and finally, Ace drops into a sitting position beside her, easily managing to balance on the thin strip despite having a bulkier, heavier frame. The sun creates shadows underneath his muscles as they flex to grip the runner beneath him, making himself comfortable as if for a long wait.

"All right, all right," Nami mutters, pushing herself up, "You could have just asked politely."

Ace eyes her, "You'll fall if you try to walk shaking that much." He offers an easy grin, "Take it easy. Sit down."

"Aren't I holding you up?"

"Nah," he waves a hand, "It's only afternoon classes."

Nami holds his look for a moment, neither giving way for the other, and slowly lowers herself back down. Her legs thank her. As Ace lowers his arm, Nami's gaze flickers to the dark lines underneath the short sleeve of his shirt. They slither over the skin of his upper bicep. Then his arm disappears from her sight and she asks, "Is that a tattoo?"

"Why were you so upset when Luffy threw the book over the roof?" he counters almost immediately. Nami, however, does not miss the small, hesitant pause of reluctance, of something unpleasant. The wind loses a degree of warmth.

"I asked first."

"Yes, it's a tattoo."

Nami frowns at him, even though that would be her exact reply in the same situation. Ace gives her a look that says _your turn_ and she plays along, "Because he threw a book over the roof."

"That's not exactly an answer."

She shrugs, "Was yours?"

"It answered your question."

"So did mine."

Ace releases a sound that sounds like an exhale, a sigh and a chuckle all combined into one. He mutters, "You're really something special; I can see why Luffy immediately liked you." He glazes over the inadvertent compliment however and says, "Then, how about this. You just patched up a fight with my little brother, a fight that had him moping all day. While it really had nothing to do with me, it's still my little brother so I felt bothered on his behalf in regards to you." He says all this matter-of-factly, without a note of accusatory tone. Nami isn't sure whether he's fishing for an apology by extension for his trouble, but she won't be giving him one. Instead, Ace continues, "That's my reason for any distrust on my part.

"What's yours?"

* * *

Despite his confidence, Luffy's head does not appear over the edge of the roof when Nami picks up his book. She knows it is not out of fear, more likely distraction if Usopp has finished tinkering his new device. She still feels disappointment for she has no target to propel the book at because she sure damned feels like it.

_What's yours?_

Nami sits at the base of the building, uncaring who sees her (Luffy mentioned no one walked in this area anyway) and curses another member of the increasingly headache-inducing family. She hates his blunt tone.

_What's your reason for distrusting me?_

Of course Ace wouldn't trust her enough to delve into whatever backstory lay behind his tattoo. She'd met his younger brother for a week and already began screaming at him after all.

What is_ her_ reason for distrusting _him_?

His first impression had been made breaking into her car… to give her sister directions.

The frayed plastic covering of the Biology textbook almost comes away in her hands. Gently, she folds the material and tucks in the uneven edges so the covering appears almost new. It's not that she distrusts him, she tells herself; she just isn't sure how to phrase her words and so do not say them.

(Rather, she isn't sure how to phrase her words to form the truth.)

How could she explain? That since she was young, she had to _steal_ her books in order to read them? That to see someone throw away so carelessly something she risked _theft_ to obtain, made her insane with anger?

"Were you lying?" calls down a voice. Nami looks up and Luffy sits there on the railing, peering down at her. At this distance, Nami cannot tell if his face contorts in a smile or not. His tone is his signature playful lilt, though, and somehow Nami knows the smile is there because of that.

Yet, she still feels hesitance. If he misses, the book will surely be destroyed. For once, she feels like bypassing her pride, just this once. She turns to make her way back up to the roof…

… and Ace plucks the book out of her hand with a deft sweep of his own and without care for her shock, lobs it up easily with the same arm. Nami makes some sort of choked sound and glares up at Ace, a string of words loading behind her lips. Ace, however, points upwards with a finger and commands, "Just look. Please." The latter courtesy almost sounds like an afterthought. Almost.

Nami directs her gaze skyward, watching the airborne book with a sense of helplessness and simmering anger for the boy behind her for putting her through this.

As the book reaches the turning point of its curve, she becomes aware of the shape that propels itself abruptly towards it. The shape lets out a joyful, hooting laugh and Nami's fear doubles.

"Luffy!" she yells. _You idiot!_

"Don't worry about him," Ace says nonchalantly behind her. Nami turns her furious glare on him, finding some sort of outlet for her anger. Ace merely shrugs, a look of boredom across his features. He indicates with a finger once more: _look up_. When Nami keeps glaring at him, he gives her an amused look and physically turns her around in a firm but gentle movement.

"You're going to miss it," he says.

So Nami looks up, and she watches the Pirate boy with a straw hat catch the book, let out a whoop of triumph and land with a tumble into the open passageway of an adjoining building, similar to the one leading from the greenhouse roof to the rooftop garden. A second later, his head pokes back out to the screams of encouragement from Usopp and Chopper.

"Is he hurt?" Nami demands, whirling and turning her back on the stunt. She feels her throat constrict with something like worry but her brain refuses to acknowledge it as such, "We have to check on him—"

"He's fine," Ace interrupts. His dark eyes are unconcerned, "A few scratches never hurt him."

"What about the book then?" Nami exclaims and Ace laughs.

"Go check on that then," he says, "I can assure you it is perfectly intact." He has a goading, challenging smile that looks like the original blueprint for Luffy's own.

Nami huffs and storms past him, resisting the urge to yell a juvenile, "It better be!" over her shoulder.

"Nami?" Ace calls.

She turns, raising her eyebrow to demand, _what?_

"If I'm right, promise to humour my little brother for a little while. It should be a good show of faith if the book's fine, right?"

"And if it's not?"

"I'm counting on you anyway."

"That's a lot of faith for someone you distrust," Nami says.

Ace cocks his head, an odd expression crossing his face. It's too lucid to be blank and too varied to be pinned down to one emotion. He looks wary, yet faintly amused and trusting; like a kid about to pet the feral dog, unsure of whether it might bite his hand but somehow convinced it will become his best friend.

"So I'm counting on you," he says simply and Nami regards him with an expression that perhaps conveys her suspicion, her frustration and relief… and maybe even her mutual feelings.

_I'm counting on you, too, for you to be right._

* * *

Luffy is waiting for her when she heaves herself over the top of the iron ladder, sitting cross-legged on the stone of the other side. He brightens when they come face-to-face over several metres of steel and glass.

"Come on, lunch is ending soon!" he calls. He holds up the book and waves it around, "Told you I'd catch it!"

"Is it damaged?"

"You'd better come over and see," the boy sings.

So Nami does. Almost.

"One day," she mutters when Luffy has to meet her two-thirds of the way across.

"Here," he says, proffering the textbook, practically laying it into her hands as he drops down to sit beside her. Nami takes it and notes its near-pristine condition. Even the plastic she had folded back into place hadn't budged. It feels warm under her fingers.

Luffy says, "Do you remember what I told you to do the first time you came up here?"

Nami has to think, but not too hard. It is hard to forget that time and of the boy who so long waited for her to take his hand, brimming with as much faith as anyone could have in her. She finds herself repeating his exact words, "'Meet you on the other side, Nami! Look at the sides if you can.'"

"Do I sound like that?" he sounds faintly mock-offended at her attempt to mimic his voice and Nami laughs, but she doesn't speak, for looking at the side has mesmerised her.

From their position atop the centre of the greenhouse, sloping glass roofs gently lap like the smoothest waves to either side. The early afternoon sun creates the best lighting, filtering through the panes to highlight the colourful subjects below. As Nami peers down, she sees the writhing plants, neatly maintained and bursting with life, some growing as tall as the greenhouse roof itself. It feels surreal as she pivots on the spot, peering through the glass panes on both sides, viewing the greenhouse garden from above like a visiting bird.

"It kind of makes you feel like you're walking through the sky and looking down at the Earth," Nami murmurs.

"It feels like flying if you run." Nami turns to look at him, temporarily snapped out of her reverie, but Luffy is smiling at her comment, as if happy she shares a common understanding with him. He continues, "Makino used to try and teach me the names of the plants. Now, Robin tries as well, but I don't really remember much." He points with a finger towards a section almost directly below them, "From here to the left is the fruit orchard but the trees are further up that end," he points towards the fields through the buildings, "Where they can grow properly. The fruit orchard is the one that's really important. Um… I think it went grapes, cherries, strawberries, tangerines—"

"Tangerines?" Nami interrupts without thought. Luffy stops and looks at her, "Yeah. Do you like them?"

"My mother does," she replies automatically and has to cough, realising the tense is wrong. She still struggles with it. "Did. She passed that onto me, I guess."

A second passes. Then another. Nami hopes he doesn't ask the question, please don't ask the question…

He asks a question, but not the one she expects.

"Well, do you wanna go steal some?"

* * *

Minutes later, Nami is explaining to Luffy how to pick out the best tangerines, reciting the same lines her mother had once told her. Mostly, it consists of Luffy pointing to one and asking, "How about that one?"

Nami says no and explains why. Luffy points to another one, then another, Nami exclaims, "You pointed to that one ten seconds ago!" and the process seems to repeat indefinitely. Finally, though, they manage to claim a fair stash.

"Who's in charge of this place?" Nami asks at one point. She doesn't have an extensive knowledge of botany, but the contents of the greenhouse are thriving and beautiful, clearly maintained by someone who does. Luffy only shrugged, "It used to be Robin a couple of years ago. That was when she was still studying for her doctor's certificate though."

Nami blinks, "Her what?"

"To become a really good archaeologist."

Nami blinks again and then deadpans, "Do you mean her doctorate?"

"Isn't it the same thing?"

At her expression, Luffy laughs, "I'm kidding. I don't know a lot about what my friends do but I know the simple stuff." After a pause, he adds, "Do you want to hear about them?"

Nami is not sure exactly what compels her; perhaps the excited tone of his voice, but she replies, "Sure."

She learns Zoro drinks and exercises a lot more than what should be healthy and that he is nineteen, like Sanji, but had failed to graduate the previous year.

"Isn't he allowed to leave?" Nami asks. That would explain his complete lack of motivation in his studies.

"He is," Luffy replies, "Hawky convinced him to stay and finish what he started. He doesn't show it but he's trying harder than last year. Chopper and Robin have helped him a lot. I think he's determined to graduate with us this time."

"I see."

She learns Usopp is the best storyteller in the group, though she suspects that's a euphemism for the best liar, and that he'd been the group's on-off mechanic and tinkerer before Franky came along. "Some bad stuff happened, but now they're good friends. They make lots of cool stuff for us." And, Luffy added, Usopp has a long-distance relationship with a girl back in his hometown and he always told his best stories to her, much to Luffy and Chopper's sulking.

"You two seem really close," she says.

"Yeah. We had a fight once," he admits, "Around the time we met Franky. But we've been fine since."

Sanji, she learns, is the best chef Luffy knows. He's also a smoker, a bit of a pervert and gets overly affectionate and charming when women are nearby. "He used to get mad whenever I finished his food quicker than he could make it," Luffy laughs, "But now he gives me huge servings now that he knows I'll always finish it. He hates wasted food and the thought of others being hungry."

"You said he worked at Baratie's?" Nami asks.

"Yeah, with the scary one-legged old man! Once, I broke some stuff in the place and the old man made me work it off." He pulls a face, "It wasn't fun, but I got a lot of food!

"Chopper almost didn't join our crew, but we dragged him out eventually." He explains how Chopper had been bullied when he was younger and had difficult circumstances at home. He left and found a foster father, then, eventually Kureha managed to take him under her wing.

"He really likes the cherry blossoms over on those fields," Luffy explains, pointing once more in the fruit orchard's direction, "If he's not with us, he's usually down there."

Luffy doesn't explain too much about Robin, apart from what he already revealed. He says, "A lot of it doesn't make sense unless you know other things about her. But I think I should let her explain it herself." Nami understood that almost too well.

She learns Franky is an entrepreneur, backed by his team called the 'Franky Family', and creates his own vehicles, designs, robotics, operating systems and all else he deemed as 'SUPER'. He also had an acute fascination with cyborgs, in particular, and weaponry, although that was less condoned, and, most of all…

"Ships," Luffy tells her.

"Ships?" she repeats, wondering if she heard him wrong. But Luffy confirms, "He'll tell you all about it if you ask him."

"Brook's a musician," Luffy tells her, "Have you ever heard of Soul King?"

"That's him?" Nami exclaims and Luffy nods, grinning.

"He says the costume is really cool and he really gets into character when he wears it. It's like his soul really left and entered a skeleton."

He further explains Brook's fascination with panties and warns her again that he'll probably ask about hers but that he's harmless and a nice guy.

"He has a song he really likes and we all sing it together sometimes. Do you know 'Bink's Sake'?"

Nami raises an eyebrow, "He has a classic taste." She even remembers her mother humming to the famous song on occasion.

"Brook is kind of classic himself," Luffy replies, "He sang the song with his friends when he was younger.

"So that's all my crew."

Nami had stopped picking tangerines at some point. Instead, she'd sat there on the dirt and listened to Luffy's accounts of who, she could deduce, were among the most important people of his life. He spoke fondly of them, though Nami suspects there is much he chooses not to say, probably out of respect to their privacy. His crew is so diverse, varying in all factors of age, occupation, personality and background. He could give anyone a chance, she realises, and that is why many people liked and, begrudgingly or not, held some amount of respect for him. She could only assume few people succeeded to prove why they deserved that chance and that those people included his crew. Her? Likely not. She never intends to be part of a Pirate crew and Luffy's own is no exception so she is fine with that to an extent. However, she does decide she wouldn't mind becoming Luffy's friend. If that were to happen, she has to prove firstly that his chance hadn't been wasted on her.

"Is the offer still open?" she asks. Luffy turns with a "Hm?"

"To meet your friends," she elaborates, "Maybe on the weekend?"

"Really?" Luffy immediately leaps to attention, his whole face blowing out into the biggest grin Nami has ever seen, even for him, "Seriously? You're not joking, right?"

"Really. Seriously. Not joking," she confirms.

After Luffy's impromptu self-celebration (including, bizarrely, standing by himself in the middle of the orchard shouting "Banzai!" numerous times), he settles in an excited, content mood, launching into details of the day, time and "Baratie's of course!" Nami feels oddly excited herself, as if Luffy's emotions themselves have infected her. She finds herself, oddly, talking about the day with Luffy, answering his questions about everything from who she is most excited to meet (Robin, for she always wondered what it might be like to have a girl friend, but she officially replies that she wants to talk to her about maintaining such a thriving tangerine grove) to what types of food she likes ("Why?" "So I can predict what Sanji will cook for us!"). Eventually she loses all track of time until a firm knock comes from above. Only Nami glances up and watches as Zoro and Usopp casually make their way across overhead. A little distance behind them is Chopper. He is crouched and leaning down, using a hand to knock on the roof. Luffy looks up and signals his notice with a wave, "Thanks, Chopper!"

"I assume that's our cue?" says Nami.

"Yep. Lunch is over," Luffy pushes himself up and heaves his bag behind him. Beside him, Nami shoulders her own heavy bag loaded down with fresh tangerines, "Hopefully, Tra-guy won't make a big deal of this when he finds out in last period that we stole these."

"Shouldn't you say 'if'?"

"No, _when_," Luffy replies cheerily.

It is almost enough to make her regret her theft, but definitely not enough. Nami never regrets any of her thefts. One day, she might even decide to tell someone that.

"Come on, we're going to be late," she says instead and manages to bluff an easy smile.

* * *

**I physically feel the "ABOUT TIME"s currently running through the mind of each and every reader of this story. I feel you. I'm going to have a very serious talk with my motivation and writer's block.**

**In all seriousness though, thank you for sticking with us latecomers and I apologise for the lateness of updates. I promise I haven't yet given up on this story. From this point, there are many interesting paths it could take… But only time will tell.**


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve – Somewhere in a Pirate-not-Pirate Academy Biology Class**

* * *

"Late."

"Not late."

"Late."

"Not late."

Nami feels the increasingly growing entity that is the vein on Trafalgar's forehead will burst if subject to one more repetition of this argument. Luffy is sitting on top of his stool, arms folded in the petulant manner of a child and about the worst face a liar could possibly wear. His lips are puffed out to the side and his eyes wander aimlessly, a sure sign of guilt. He also has no shame in only partly hiding his stash of tangerines… behind his back and in such a manner that the spherical shape of each individual fruit is clearly visible against the material.

Trafalgar does not fail to notice this either, "Straw Hat, do you think I'm an idiot?"

His cheeks become pronounced as Luffy somehow manages to purse his lips even more, "No."

"LIAR!"

Behind her, Usopp is stifling a snicker, as is a good portion of the rest of the class.

"He's in a good mood," Zoro remarks from beside her. Nami looks over at him, surprised to note he's awake for once and alert, too. He raises an eyebrow at her and continues, "Is that your doing?"

She gives him a half-smile, "Partly."

She expects him to smile back, but he only nods and from then doesn't pay her any mind.

* * *

Luffy resumes walking with her after school. Nami even manages to keep a few tangerines for herself when her bag is kept glued to the side of her hip that is not immediately close to his hand. No lack of whining is spared for her benefit, however.

"Nami~ Come on, just one! Please?"

She feels a wicked idea play at the corners of her mind.

"Be careful, I might feel a cold coming on… I may not make it this to this lunch thing…" and she feigns a stumble, bringing her hand up to her forehead to draw out extra melodrama. Luffy's jaw drops in indignation at her act and he yells, "That's unfair!"

Nami only laughs, "Are you afraid I might bail again?"

She had meant it as a joke. He, quite clearly, did not for his silence speaks a thousand words and every one of them indicates his affirmative answer. He is playing with her, Nami reminds herself, and she him. Their banter is ordinary, everyday nonsense. Non-committal. Casual.

(Meaningless.)

It didn't use to bother her this much, Nami is sure of that. Somehow over the last few minutes, hours, days, who knows when it started, she certainly doesn't; the thought of having a meaningless relationship with this particular boy has become a niggling worry (fear?) worming its way past her absent state of mind into consciousness.

"I hope you won't," Luffy replies, snapping her out of her own thoughts, and before she even begins to comprehend an appropriate response to that, he has walked on, leaving her by their usual destination to separate on the outside of a police station.

"I won't," she wants to say, to assure him, but the crowd parts for him, swallows him up, shields him and Luffy is gone.

* * *

Ace and Luffy tend not to come home unless certain situations call for it. It is generally agreed upon by all parties involved that both boys still, whilst 'unintentionally' (supposedly), tend to destroy Dadan's furniture, injure Dadan's colleagues and consume Dadan's entire month's food stock on too many occasions to warrant consistent visits. It is partly why Dadan refuses to leave the mountains she calls home – one, she could never stand the big smoke further inland no matter how many times she proclaims otherwise and two, she always thought the distance would deter the boys who caused her so much grief. It didn't. If anything, they seemed to enjoy the challenge of seeking her non-descript house in the mountains and tormenting her colleagues, especially Dogra and Magra.

Despite all this, it is reluctantly acknowledged that there is always a certain fondness mixed in with the apprehension and exasperation when the boys' laughter is heard dancing over the moor and snaking its way through the crevasses; eerily so, like that Jane Eyre must have felt when she heard Rochester's name howled on the wind.

_Yeah, that must be how she feels_, Dadan imagines to herself, flicking through her own copy of the classic tale. Dogra had acquired it for a steal, and Dadan found herself engrossed in the story more than what she had anticipated. She liked an independent woman who upped and left a frankly fucked-up situation, often wondering if she could just leave and sleep in the moor for a couple of days, get a bit of peace and quiet. _Be Jane Eyre. The version who can hunt and thus never has an excuse for communicating with another human being ever again._

As she sits for a few minutes, actually pondering the logic of this plan, the door flies open followed by a loud, "I'm home!" and then Luffy has entered and flops unceremoniously on the couch opposite Dadan's own seat.

"Do we have food?" he asks as he lifts his head a moment later.

"How about a 'how are you' you punk!" Dadan snaps automatically, provoking the bored look on his face as he rotates his head lazily to gaze about the room, nostrils flaring ever so often as if sniffing for food.

"Don't expect me to rub your belly too," she continues, pushing herself up with a standard grumble, "I think I have leftovers. You can eat it at the table because I'm not bringing it out for you."

"Sure!" There's a _thud_ as he hops off the couch and patters after her through the kitchen and adjoining small dining room. While he sits, Dadan opens the fridge and pulls out the usual serving she always sets aside in case of spontaneous visits from the boys. As it heats up, she asks, "So where's the other one, huh?" At Luffy's questioning look, she adds, "Ace. The grown man that still comes around here to mooch off us! Well then, where is he?"

"Not here" "Obviously!" "I think he's at Nami's" "What the hell is a Nami—" "I think it's burni—" "SHIT!"

Over the noise of trying to salvage her precious meat, Dadan keeps demanding the same question, "What is that? Who is that? Where is that? Luffy!"

"She's a nice person," Luffy replies as Dadan marches over resolutely and dumps the plate in front of him. A second later, she snatches it away again and takes a knife to the bits burnt beyond a healthy char, knowing full well Luffy would eat them anyway, the little runt, if not on purpose then by accident. After all, he hadn't seemed entirely convinced in his words when he spoke them and he looked a little out of it even with a lump of meat steaming right in front of him. It bothers her.

* * *

Ace hops lightly off the bottom step to the ground floor of the café and waves familiarly to the customers as he waits for Makino to get off the phone. He always thought it'd be more convenient if she had a regular mobile phone, or at least a wireless phone, but she likes quirky little objects like her precious rotary telephone and always refused to get rid of it. Sometimes, Ace wonders if it must have been a gift from someone equally as quirky and fond of odd items that others would easily chuck out or ignore. She has the receiver wedged between shoulder and ear as the rest of body flails to complete various little tasks around her station – replacing the sugar here, ringing the bell there and passing plates from the window to the waiting servers. Contrasting these contortions, her voice is calm and soothing as she speaks to the person on the other end of the line.

"I'm sure he's fine… Yes, he's eating, right? That's an improvement! No, I couldn't tell you how surprised I was when he refused to eat— Yes, really! He kept himself in his room all night— Yes, _meat_, can you believe that? I'm glad he's eating yours, in any case! Oh, could you hang on for a second, please?" And she lets the receiver dangle over her shoulder as she empties out the window to the servers, then shrugs it back to wedge between her ear and shoulder again, "Sorry about that, it's really busy down here! I need to hire more servers. I don't suppose Dogra or Magra would be interested— No? Sorry, sorry," she laughs good-naturedly and after a little longer of joking banter, Makino says her farewell and hangs up.

"Is there something I can do for you, Ace?" she asks, without a second's pause in her movements.

"I'm just going out for a while. I'll be back soon."

"Sure." He turns to go and she says, "Ace" so he turns back. She stands perfectly still now, the same kind smile on her face but he thinks he sees a slight imploring look in her expression. She says, "You're twenty years old now. You don't have to keep reporting back to me."

"And eighteen was different?" he asks, immediately wishing he hadn't. A look passes over her face, a phantom of fear and guilt, remembering the day two years ago and he mumbles an apology and turns to go before another word passes her lips.

Halfway down the street, the guilt still presses him, so he changes his plans, not heading towards the apartment of the intriguing new girl with the flame-coloured hair, but to the one of the woman he owed far more. But he had one stop to make first.

* * *

Nami starts to feel more and more accustomed to her job as the days go by. She answers the phone occasionally, when Ain isn't available, but that doesn't seem like too much of an issue lately. Ain has not been out with the officers since their little stunt, she is informed; no doubt by orders of Tashigi and approved by Smoker.

_Thunk. Thunk._

"Someone could ring any second," Nami says as Ain collects her ballpoint pens from below her handmade, paper bullseye pinned up on the corkboard. It has become riddled with holes and marks over the past hour, all within the small centre circle.

"And I have every confidence you could take care of it," Ain replies. She leans back in her chair again and takes aim, "As messed up as that is."

"What do you mean?" Nami asks and Ain looks over languidly, allowing a short moment to pass between them as if letting Nami realise how idiotic her question is. Finally, though, Ain replies, "Allowing minors into occupations like this. Working for the police, answering emergency calls, tagging along with us on raids and missions as if it's _normal_." She pauses, "Before the Pirate Era, it never would have happened."

"But this allowed minors to receive more jobs and occupations," Nami argues, "It allowed less of them to form gangs or deviate into established ones." She racks her brain for the term Bartholomew used during Social Studies, "It's social crime prevention."

Ain gives her a disparaging look, "You sound just like them." Again, that same mocking lilt over the '_them_'. Never '_us_', never '_we_', except for that first shift accompanied by the first smile.

"_We'll get along."_

"In any case, I disagree with the system," Ain continues and she gets up and tears down the hole-ridden bullseye, apparently having ruined it too much to continue, "Unfortunately for people like me, that is synonymous with '_hate_' nowadays…

"Even if we have reason behind it."

The phone goes off. Nami is closer but she lets Ain answer it. The former is too busy carefully sketching a new bullseye, connecting each ring and shading in each region. _Black, white, black, white, black_, on and on as Ain forwards the command onto the upper echelons of the building. By the time her colleague has completed her duty, Nami has pinned the new bullseye onto the cork board, with a slight deviant. The first white section between the black centre and third ring is shaded a light grey while the rest of the target assumes traditional pattern. A pile of pens is deposited on both girls' desks.

"I'm going first," Nami says and takes her shot. As usual, the pen hits and leaves its mark just shy of home. She waits patiently as Ain lines up her own shot, wondering where her colleague will stand. _Black, white, or grey?_

* * *

There are few instances when Chief Smoker feels compelled to respond to a call personally. Tonight happens to be one of them.

The elevator opens with a quiet hum and Smoker starts immediately towards the door, only sparing a quick glance at the two receptionists on duty. Clearly, Ain is introducing Nami to the height of criminal recreation. Smoker always thought the damned game could be used as a crime deterrence in itself. However, even with a quick glance, it is clear both girls enjoy the game thoroughly, much to his surprise.

Even more to his surprise is that for once in her entire time of being under his supervision, Ain missed the centre of the bullseye. Yet, she doesn't seem too upset about it. Rather, the quietest smile is on her lips, as if her pen has left its mark exactly where she intended.

* * *

Nojiko always planned that waitressing would be her side-job when the time came for her to attend university.

Even though that plan was simply never meant to be and her dream side-job became a real full-time-job, Nojiko still felt a sense of pride that she excelled in her area. Waitressing came naturally and customer service came naturally to her. It would never happen, but Nojiko feels at peace knowing that had her original plans gone ahead, she would have been successful, and could still be successful in the future.

The bells chime, summoning her to the front.

"Welcome! How can I help—"

"Oh, hey! Geez, you guys could work anywhere!" laughs a familiar voice and Nojiko can't help but return the smile, albeit a little tiredly.

"What can I do for you, Ace?"

"This is Makino's favourite restaurant. If you could tell the chef that I'm here, he'll make her usual."

"Sure."

Soon, Nojiko is facing Ace again, this time waiting for the machine to accept the credit card. The plastic bag of takeaway sits between them on the counter with a distinct scent wafting from it like nothing Nojiko had ever smelt from the meals on the menu. She begins to wonder if the chef makes catered meals for everyone or only the women he's smitten with, which is exactly what she asks Ace.

He only smiles, "Only the woman he's smitten with." Nojiko doesn't miss the singular term and returns the smile as she hands over the receipt.

At the end of her shift, Nojiko picks up the phone and dials the number of the police station. She tells her little sister that the restaurant is packed even though the masses have since trickled out and that she'll be late. She takes leave of her co-workers, politely refuses to go out with them again and rushes out to her car, slamming herself into the cab and cranking up the bass-pounding music once she's driven far enough into the city that it wouldn't be unusual. She loses herself in the music for another four blocks until she pulls up in front of the imposing glass and steel building.

"Nezumi," she tells the receptionist and she is grateful her voice brooks no argument. Promptly, she is directed to the elevators and met by the man himself when the doors slide open. He smiles in an eerily friendly manner that only sends chills of apprehension racing through Nojiko's nerves.

"A pleasure. Though, I must say, early. I thought our appointment was not until tomorrow?" says Nezumi as she is led into his office. There are the white papers, silver pens, polished desks and black insignias, same as ever.

"So why did you show up at my apartment?" Nojiko demands. She has to wait as Nezumi patters over to his desk and lowers himself into the seat, both actions done infuriatingly slowly. He steeples his fingers and peers at her over them.

"I was curious. You see, Arlong enjoys informing me of his most esteemed clients. I had no idea I'd only formally met one of them." The sentences are languid, short and spoken flatly. His next ones, however, are filled with darker promises,  
"Has your sister been involved with Arlong since you applied to me for custody? Before that?"

When she refuses to respond, Nezumi continues, "Now, you see, that's a precarious situation, Miss Nojiko. At my discretion as a government man, I could overlook your involvement for you are, of course, an adult and free to make your own choices as you see fit. However," his voice gains a formal and mocking edge, "Miss Nami, as a minor, is another story. You filed an application for custody knowing that she could have otherwise escaped her involvement with the Arlong Pirates. Isn't that right?"

"Do you think she could have escaped from Arlong if another family had taken her in?" Nojiko retorts, "Do you think that man wouldn't have _hunted her_ chasing up what he thinks we _owe _him?"

"Speculative, Miss. We can see how well that argument will assist you in court. Meanwhile, let me tell you my evidence. I have two little girls who never reported the murder of their own mother. Interestingly, the two little girls in fact fled the scene and there were no other witnesses to the murder. The girls were then rejected from various foster families for disobedient and criminal behaviour, until the eldest herself received custody at the _generous_ hands of a government worker. Her case," he speaks now as if addressing a true court of law, "as we all know, would have otherwise been unsuccessful due to her own tenuous circumstances and suspicions surrounding the two sisters. I should know," and again, he now speaks only to her – the malice, the dark smugness of knowledge and threat meant only for her, and he says it again, as if relishing the moment. "I should know. For, after all, you were the one who told me everything in exchange for a favour.

"Well, then. It's been a pleasure." He smiles again, a cunning rodent's grin, and pulls out the drawers, collects a mound of paperwork and pens and sets to work, effectively dismissing her. When, however, the figure doesn't move, Nezumi does not spare a glance but asks, "Do you have any other purpose here?"

"Yes."

Surprise registers on the man's face and Nojiko takes a sense of equal smugness from the sight. Then, the expression dissolves and the rodent-like, beady features fix upon her once more with suspicious – but, noticeably, intrigued – interest.

"I'm listening."

* * *

Makino returns home to Portgas D. Ace napping on her porch, a bag of takeaway lying at his elbow. She tries to move quietly around him but as soon as her foot touches the wood, an eye snaps open. Whatever ferocity lay hidden in the boy's assumption of an intruder quickly melts away as he recognises her. Instead, warmth and repentance fill those features. Before he can say anything – no doubt he wants to address what he said and therefore the incident of two years ago – Makino kneels down, dropping her keys, her basket of extra treats she always brings home for the boys if they happen to stop by and her groceries to observe him. Her cheek rests on the palm of her hand and her gaze becomes inquisitive, as if he is the same ten-year-old boy from eight years ago. Back then, he used to get flustered when she looks at him like this. Nothing had changed.

"W-What's that look for?" he stutters. Makino always takes quiet pride that she retains the power to make Portgas D. Ace stutter, a rare power that few possessed. She smiles kindly – she can see his flushed cheeks despite the darkness – as he blurts out an extremely formal apology, adhering to every rule she used to drill into him as a child, in that particular tone of voice when he is flustered or contrite or, in this case, both. When he is finished, anxiously waiting for her reply, she allows her arms to wrap around him, applying the gentlest of pressures. When he was younger, she used to be afraid of hurting him by squeezing too tightly, but she had soon learnt that, in fact, it was only the softest of touches that could break him.

By morning, all is forgiven but not necessarily forgotten. Both know that the issue of two years ago remains unaddressed and will be for some time until the next inevitable disagreement.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen – Somewhere in a Government Building**

* * *

"How interesting," says Nezumi. He finishes his note on the pad in front of him with a flourish, "Incredibly interesting, Nojiko." He fixes her with the gaze of a seasoned businessman – a look, Nojiko notes, that should be unusual for a man in this sort of government position but she cannot consider these specifics now – and offers a matching, coldly pleasant smile.

"Again, it's been a pleasure. I very much look forward to our next meeting."

"Is it a deal?" Nojiko says, conditioned to see these evasive technicality tricks. After all, she'd committed some of them herself, "I need your word, Nezumi."

He placates her. From the bottom of his pad, he folds over the end onto itself, tears along the crease and offers the fragment of creamy paper.

"I'll even give you the proof."

* * *

The woman is hard to satisfy, however, eventually she must leave, presumably to retrieve her younger sister from the police station. They are cunning, Nezumi must admit to at least that much. In other circumstances, they could possibly outsmart Arlong at his own game between the two of them. Not that he would admit as much to his beneficial partner. Instead, he makes a note to the receptionist that he is not to be disturbed for the next twenty minutes. Next, he picks up the receiver of his office phone and dials a familiar number to a colleague downstairs. He picks up and they exchange a few friendly words. Nezumi then sets down the receiver on the desk and does not hang up as his colleague continues speaking. He only refers back to it occasionally for a 'yes', 'I see', 'yes'. This would secure his alibi.

Meanwhile, he opens his desk drawer and extracts a slim burner phone with one programmed number. Careful to keep out of range of the receiver of his office phone, he dials an entirely different number.

"Hello, it's me," Nezumi says to the voice who picks up. Quickly, he exchanges phones and murmurs a few agreeable words into the receiver. Just as quickly, he returns to the burner phone in time to hear the end of the question – _"— can I do for you?"_

"I think I have some news you would be interested to know, Arlong-san."

"_As do I," _says Arlong, _"Why don't you start?"_

* * *

The next day – the day of the scheduled routine inspection outlined in the letter Nojiko received one-week prior – passed without incident, and without anyone coming to her door. Her insurance is kept beneath her mattress and safely out of the hands of anyone else. Nami went to school and work and came back smiling.

It is a good day. Two more such days came and went. Disregarding the stressful beginning of her week, Nojiko feels satisfied with the way their new life has developed.

* * *

On the following day, two discrepancies would occur.

"You?" Nojiko cries over breakfast. Her cup has paused halfway to her lips and her face is slack in mock-shock, "_You _are going to meet potential _friends_? I'm kidding! Kidding!" she laughs as Nami launches herself across the counter at her in offense, "Friends of that boy, right? Luffy with the straw hat, Straw Hat," she continues, "So? Why are you telling me? Do you need my permission? I'm touched."

Nami snorts, "I'd go even if you said no."

Nojiko reaches across the counter now and shoves her sister in the shoulder, light enough to be a joke but firm enough to make her jolt a bit, "Hurry up and meet your friends." Faintly, in the back of her mind, Nojiko feels she has never seen these clothes on Nami before, something that seems loosely reminiscent of pirate fashion. She draws her own conclusions, but refrains from any comment.

* * *

When Nami enters Makino's Café today, the usual welcoming peal of bells announcing her presence is drowned out by Luffy's argument.

"Are you kidding me, Luffy, have you still not caught this thief?" yells a muscular man seated at the counter. Standing opposite him, bizarrely coated with flour, is Luffy. Only a bowl shaped mound of hair is free of white, presumably because it was shielded by his straw hat, which Luffy is now patting clean.

"How long does it take you to complete a simple task, boy?" demands the older man, banging a fist on the counter.

"Shut up! Why don't you do it yourself, old man?" Luffy retorts, "I told you I'm not interested!"

"This is excellent training for your initiation into the force! You don't get this experience anywhere else! Be grateful!"

"And I told you I don't want to enter the force!" He inhales sharply, accidentally ingesting some particles of flour from his immediate coughing. White clouds puff and smoke around him in a comical manner. He yells, "I'm gonna be a Pirate! A Pirate!"

"Enough of this nonsense already!" a solid 'thud' follows this outburst and then an, "OWWW!"

Nami doesn't hang around for any longer and quickly backpedals in search of other clothes.

_I'm not wearing these clothes again, definitely not! _Nami vows to herself, just as the bells ring out again, this time loudly and completely audible.

"Hm?" the muscular man turns his head. Nami notices his head of grey hair, matching facial hair and a wandering scar around his eye like his grandson. Unlike his grandson, however, the scar only serves to enhance the dark severity of his expression. The twist of his head allows the edge of a broken shelf to be seen behind him and an empty sack – that presumably once held the same flour that coated Luffy – hanging off the remaining plank of wood. He must have thrown the heavy sack at the shelf, breaking it in the process… and the intended target was close enough to suffer the explosion of flour as a result.

_Crazy old man! I'm sorry! _Nami screams internally, backing up even quicker if physically possible. Then, Luffy's head twists curiously around his grandfather and his eyes light up, "Nami!"

_NO, YOU FOOL! _Nami's face reflects her astonishment and anger, making Luffy wear an even larger grin, "Morning!"

"A friend of yours?" says his grandfather. Immediately, he makes his advance, "You! Are you part of my idiotic grandson's crew? What's your name?"

Nami freezes, promptly at a complete loss for words. _This is Luffy and Ace's grandfather?_

"Answer me, kid!"

"Garp-san!" a sharp voice cuts through the air and Makino makes her way to the pair, "I think that's no way to greet one of the customers—" she gets distracted momentarily by the sight of Luffy covered in flour but quickly turns back to them, "— This is Nami-san. She recently moved here with her sister, Nojiko-san. I'm sure if you asked politely, she could have told you herself."

"Just moved here?" Garp says, ignoring the barb, "Well, in that case, she must not be a part of his crew yet. But I'm warning you, kid, if we meet next time as police to Pirate, I won't hesitate—"

At this, Nami could regain her voice and square her shoulders, "In that case, don't worry because that won't happen."

The look on Garp's face darkens another shade at this comment. His eyes sharp and unblinking, seem to survey her with apprehension. _Why? Didn't I say what he wanted? _The bluffer's confidence in the words she has spoken reduces, just a little, for the first time. No, she spoke out of turn. That must be it. _NO, IT MUST BE THE CLOTHES! DOES HE RECOGNISE THEM? _It had only been a week since she stole them… Behind him, she can see Luffy's delighted face as Makino guides him outside to take care of the flour situation during her dilemma.

"I see," Garp replies. His voice is flat and resigned. He offers her another look to match his tone, "I hope we don't see each other again, then.

"That's what every single one of his crew have said when I told them the same thing."

* * *

"So, if I'm to understand this correctly," Nami says, helping herself to an assortment of sweets Makino has laid out for them, "Every single member of your crew did not originally intend to join your crew?"

"Gramps exaggerates," Luffy answers, helping himself to a whole plate of assorted sweets at once, "Brook completely wanted to join the first time I asked. Only everyone else had to take their time."

"Everyone else being the other six people?"

"Yeah."

Nami focusses on keeping a neutral tone for the next question, "What made them change their minds?"

"Um…" Luffy drags another plate towards him, "Well, I don't know. You'll have to ask them, I guess. Hey, let me have this plate too!" Nami pushes it towards him without resistance, not even surprised anymore by the rate at which this boy could make food disappear.

"Your grandfather…" she starts instead.

"He's strict, but he's not a bad person," Luffy sums up, "He just doesn't like Pirates."

_We could get along_, thought Nami in the following pause as Luffy devours his food.

"You're here early!" Luffy continues after the last swallow, a playful lilt once again dominating his tone, "Are you that excited to meet everyone?" He stacks the plates neatly and calls, "Makino! Seconds!"

"I knew you were going to be late," Nami replies as Makino reappears instantly with a fresh plate loaded with hot snacks, "And hey, are you going to have enough room for lunch?"

"Of course. I have a separate stomach for Sanji's cooking."

"You're ridiculous."

* * *

Baratie is a large restaurant fashioned to the likeness of a fish resting adjacent to the docks. Around this time of year, the vessel is docked predominantly with only the occasional venture out to sea. At other times, however, Luffy says the restaurant is continually sailing and docking around different parts of the island – an occasion that Sanji once invited the crew along to, but never again because the food, and alcohol, stores dropped too much mid-journey.

"You're absolutely ridiculous," Nami deadpans again, "Were you even of legal drinking age?"

"I only ate the food!" Luffy counters defensively, "And no, but Zoro looked like it."

She only shakes her head.

Within, each worker greets Luffy by the same trademark epithet as he receives in school: "Straw Hat!" "Hey, look who's here!" "Get Straw Hat out before all our food disappears!" "Don't break anymore plates, do you hear?" Luffy responds in kind, always with an easy-going attitude and mock offense where it was called for. Without needing to wait, however, both of them are directed straight through the busy main floor to the back rooms.

"I'll let Sanji know you're here," says the last man, turning to leave them at the threshold of two large double doors.

"Yeah, thanks! Nami, go in first." A challenging and excited lilt ensures the girl can't say no, even though trepidation follows her through old instincts. Her fingers still brush the bangle briefly, linger on the handle and finally summon enough confidence to enter with an acceptable expression on the bearer's face. Within, the noises of unrestrained laughter and chatter go from muted to uproarious and… suddenly, quiet.

The first thing she sees is Chopper standing on the table. As the younger boy turns around, she has to stifle laughter at the two chopsticks wedged firmly between his nose and bottom lip. Somehow, this set up still allows him to scream, long and loud, in horror and embarrassment; only second in volume to the laughter of the boy behind Nami. At the captain's laughter, she sees, everyone else within the room dissolves into merriment. She is able to pick out several distinct characters from Luffy's descriptions alone. That is definitely Brook sitting at the far left who towers over his neighbour Usopp but is evenly matched by Franky on his other side. Then, travelling down and around the table, there is Robin, two empty seats, one of which must be for Chopper, Zoro and another empty seat.

"Hey guys!" Luffy calls once the bulk of laughter has gone, "Are you all doing well?"

"You're always late!" Usopp yells.

"We'll be bones by the time you arrive!" agrees Brook, "Oh wait…"

"Yes, yes, you're still in character, Brook," Franky interrupts.

"Luffy, it's impolite to leave your guest standing there…" Robin says, now comforting an embarrassed Chopper.

"Oh right, you guys this is—"

"LUFFY!" the door behind Nami bursts open suddenly, causing the girl to leap aside with a yelp as a blonde man swept into the room with platters of food balanced on his arms and head, "I swear, you shitty captain, you do this every single time when you say you're coming at—" Again silence swamps them. Nami meets the new boy's eye with bemusement.

"Who is this beautiful lady here? Luffy~ When you said you were bringing someone, you should have said you were bringing a lady~"

"Ah, should I? Sorry, is it a problem?"

"_Of course not~_" Suddenly, deftly unloading his plates in quick motions, the boy who Nami presumes is Sanji returns to her side and introduces himself formally with the manner of a true gentleman, "Please, miss, tell me what is your favourite food."

"Anything with tangerines," she replies.

"Coming right up!"

"Nami, your seat's over there, by Robin!" Luffy's voice shouts from the other side of the table where he has lowered himself into the chair next to Zoro. Meeting his eyes, she can see this is no coincidence. Despite herself, she feels touched that he remembered and she slips gratefully into the designated seat. The older woman to her left greets her warmly.

"Miss Nami, is it?"

"Yes. It's nice to meet you, Robin!" Then, noting the small form still clinging to her neighbour, Nami lets an absent hand stroke his head, "Chopper, are you OK?"

"I'm fine!" he sobs.

The two girls exchange a smile. Their relationship would blossom just fine (unlike the youngest boy, despite his claims to the contrary, and he continues to sulk in embarrassment for a while). Discussing the greenhouse-thieving adventures of the week, Robin raises a curious eyebrow at Nami's retelling of the stories. Nami doesn't fail to notice this.

"Is it out of the ordinary for Luffy to drag others into his crimes?" she jokes.

"Not at all," Robin replies, "But he usually coerces Usopp and Chopper to accompany him." She doesn't comment any further, but Nami notices the inquisitive and faintly amused expression on her face afterwards, as if knowing a secret that no one else is privy to. Upon her asking about it, however, Robin only replies with a light, "I wouldn't know what you're talking about."

Sanji dutifully returns with the meals even quicker than the table could polish them off. Placing a platter of new dishes in front of Luffy first, and a large tankard in front of Zoro ("if you rat us out for supplying alcohol way beyond what should be the limit, I'll kill you first, you mosshead"); he strolls over to Nami's side of the table. Even at the distance, Nami could catch the familiar aroma of—

"Is that tangerines?" Luffy yells, the words slurred by a mouthful of food, "Sanji, is that a new dish? I want the first taste!"

"I just gave you a new dish! Sit down and eat!" the young chef retorts. Turning back towards the women, a smile graces his features, "Here is a dish made especially for you. I tried to incorporate the tangerines as best I could." Next, he serves Robin, placing an assortment of coffee-themed dishes in front of her.

"You're always so thoughtful with these," Robin smiles, which sends Sanji blissfully out of the room. She turns to look at Nami's blank – but gradually turning awestruck – expression as she beholds the exquisite dish before her and chuckles lightly, "I think his cooking will be to your taste regardless of what you may think of his character at the moment. Please eat."

By the time Sanji returns to the room, Nami has fought off an insistent Luffy and successfully consumed every bite she could possibly scrape off the plate. She thanks the chef profusely, which earns her a beautiful dessert (although she suspects he was delivering it to her anyway) and a delighted smile.

"I hope you will come as often as you'd like~"

Her priorities cannot resist. "I'm not sure if my funds could handle it…"

"But look at the way she's looking at him," Usopp whispers to the side.

"Is this what you would call a con?" Chopper asks him in the same whisper-not-whisper.

"For sure."

Nami keeps her eyes on her subject, making a note to rouse on the two gossipers later. Sanji, she finds, caves quite easily to her whims, resulting in a derogatory snort from Zoro, which results in the fight that ends the extent of their welcome.

"Out!" orders a man who Nami can only assume is the head chef from the ridiculous – almost comedic – height of his hat and a rather impressive moustache. He adds, "You'll destroy my restaurant at this rate! AGAIN!" Nami decides she'd rather not ask. But Luffy only laughs.

"We'll be back next week!"

"Sure, kid. Remember to pay next time!"

"Nope!"

Sanji only sighs in exasperation, muttering, "Who do you think always has to pay for your meals?" But he sees each person off personally, going so far as to take Nami's hand again as she passes.

"You can always eat here for free, Nami-san," he smiles, "As promised."

Nami returns his smile; and although she has never completed a con she regrets, she wonders about taking advantage of this one too soon. His smile is too kind, somehow, but not in the way that arouses suspicion, rather the complete opposite. Nami has no doubt he will let her eat free for the rest of her life should she choose it. It is exactly that which gives her pause. Once again, she draws a blank when she could normally find a reply so easily. She could only offer him a 'thank you', a 'Sanji-kun' and a smile, yet somehow that seems like enough.

* * *

Once they left Baratie, she quickly catches up with Usopp and Chopper and connects both of their heads in one quick motion.

"OW!" they both yell and glare, mockingly betrayed, at her. She only sticks out her tongue juvenilely and retorts, "You shouldn't gossip within hearing range, then!"

"That's mean, Nami!"

"Yeah, that's mean!"

"Oh, stop it, your heads barely connected!"

"It made a 'thunk' sound!"

"'THUNK!'" repeats Chopper and Nami bursts out laughing.

"Good grief, this is what happens when too many of us are still in high school!" Franky roars towards them before snapping his head back to the front, "Hey, Luffy! You're going the wrong way!"

"Where are we going?" Nami asks the older man.

He grins down at her, "This crews' ship constructed by yours truly… and Bakaburg and some others. But mostly yours truly. Hey Luffy! I said that's the wrong way, dammit! Who's keeping an eye on Zoro?"

"I think we lost him as soon as we left the restaurant," Robin observes.

"How is that even _possible_?"

"I can find him," Brook volunteers, "Although, with my sightless eyes, that may be difficult." He claps once, clearly delighted, "Skull joke!"

"SKULL JOKE!" Luffy echoes a fair way down the street.

"Luffy, you're supposed to go left!" Franky yells.

"Oh, right!"

"No, left!"

"I think he was only confirming your instruction," Robin adds pleasantly and it is Franky's apology that is next screamed down the street. The other commuters are beginning to cross to the other side of the road to avoid them now, looking bemused and slightly irritated with all the yelling. Others, Nami notices, are even laughing, apparently used to these shenanigans and she begins to wonder when she, too, became the same. But as she contemplates this, she suddenly notices the object coming within view, between the buildings, docked at the water's edge. Franky follows her gaze and grins massively, his voice filled with undiluted pride.

"Welcome to the Thousand Sunny!"

* * *

Luffy's spot is on the figurehead, shaped to the likeness of a lion (although Nami initially thought it was a sun, as befitting the name she reasoned, but still caused Franky to sulk with wounded pride). Chopper and Usopp stick by the railing, dangling lines into the ocean and occasionally play together on the 'lawn' of the deck. Robin chooses to recline in a shaded spot with a thick volume balanced in her hands and a cool drink at her side. Brook, having returned with a grumpy Zoro in tow, sways himself back and forth on the swing set affixed to the deck, absently humming a familiar song and playing the accompanying tune. Zoro immediately ascended to the crow's deck and if Nami listens carefully enough, she can hear the metallic echo of iron or steel. As for herself, she convinced Franky to give her the grand tour, which immediately lifted his spirits.

"And, finally, this is the underwater bar!" Franky announces, stepping aside with a flourish so Nami can step into the room below deck. She guides herself around the room in quiet awe while Franky continues speaking.

"Normally, when we're out at sea, there will be fish and all sorts of sea creatures swimming around this room. For now, it's pretty boring since the fish don't come this close to land."

"You guys go out to sea?" Nami asks, turning around, "On this ship?"

"Of course!" Franky laughs, "I didn't build this ship to sit here and look pretty, y'know. This ship will conquer a thousand seas in her time; although for now, we're mainly confined here." He looks out of the open hatch at the sky overhead, "Sanji's late. He usually comes around after work and we'll set sail. Well, that's the entirety of the ship anyway. I'll leave you to explore on your own. Feel free to do anything you like!" With that, he returns to the deck, leaving Nami alone in the cool, serene silence of the room, surrounded by the ocean. For that, she is thankful and she paces the circumference of the room, watching the light play with the darkness of the water at this depth and her reflection looking back at her, tinted in that strange colour.

She remembered looking at ponds like this, back in her small hometown, and the ocean at the edge of their even smaller coastline. She remembered stealing atlases and marking their location in them, being amazed at how vast the world seemed to be, and how vast the unexplored area remained.

"_Do you think there are a thousand seas in the world, Bellemere-san?"_

"_I'm sure there are."_

"_How do you know?"_

_A flick on the forehead, a faux yell of indignation and a mocking grin in return, followed by her mother's gesture towards the wall near the entrance of their house. Gen-san always scolded them for keeping those papers pinned to that wall, since they were the products of the multiple times Nami went to the bookstore and returned with atlases that hadn't been paid for. Bellemere never much cared for what Gen-san thought._

"_Because one day, you'll find them and you'll draw them for me just like those."_

Above, on the deck, Luffy's shout travels through the air and down to her, snapping Nami out of her reverie.

"Sanji's here! Let's go! Let's go!"

Upon the command of its captain, the Thousand Sunny peels away from the wharf and Nami finds herself suddenly drifting out to sea surrounded by Pirates, but the thought seems almost irrelevant and forgotten. When she emerges on the stairs, letting the afternoon sun warm her, she is smiling. The sea, like the other thousand she had been encouraged to believe existed in this world, was beautiful, even in the company of Pirates and thieves.

* * *

**(Well, look at who decided to show her face again)**

**I won't make promises, nor expect others to wait on this story.**** For those who decide to, sometimes late nights call for some writing, especially when it takes you to the Straw Hats' world. Hopefully, we'll meet again soon.**


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